Easy does it! A supportive, 60-degree rapport from the Moon in Leo to Jupiter in Gemini (1:20AM PDT) can give you the false feeling that euphoria and the power of positive thinking will take you far. However, challenging vibes affect primary partnerships when Vesta in Taurus forms a dicey opposition with Juno in Scorpio (3:20AM PDT). When two asteroid goddesses battle one another on either side of the Earth, tensions are definitely going to rise in important relationships. Be extra sensitive and attentive to a dear one’s needs and viewpoints. Strive to be a good listener rather than usurp the conversation. The Moon forming a supportive, 60-degree tie with Venus (11:51AM PDT) followed by a problem-solving enhancement involving a similar aspect between Venus and Pallas (2:53PM PDT) would seem to give you a wonderful boost with no hassles at all. Nevertheless, before you know it, the red planet chimes in provocatively by making a contra-parallel with Chiron (4:54PM PDT) and parallel with Uranus (5:30PM PDT). These two Mars-related parallels are nothing to sneer at as they can ratchet up the intensity meter to an enormous degree. Pressing the anger button – deliberately or by mistake – won’t solve any difficulties. Keep your distance from temperamental individuals or anyone who has a chip on their shoulder. Be aware that this is only the opening salvo of a cosmic barrage that includes the entire weekend when Chiron is contra-parallel Uranus (tomorrow) and Uranus squares Pluto (Sunday).
Calendar of the Moon for June 22
22 Duir/Skirophorion
Day of Thunder
Color: Grey and black
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of black patterned with grey clouds and yellow lightning place nine yellow candles, a chalice of rainwater, and if possible, a Tesla coil or other static lightning lamp.
Offerings: Go out into the rain during the next storm, and stand unprotected in it.
Daily Meal: Cold food. Only rainwater to drink.
Day of Thunder Invocation
(Call and response, repeating:)
Dark powers of Air, we honor you!
Lords of the storm cloud, we honor you!
Dancers of the lightning bolt, we honor you!
Roar of the summer skies, we call you!
Zeus of the eagle’s eye,
Shango, leaper in the fire,
Oya, Lady of the Wild Winds,
Thor, Lord of the Hammer,
We acknowledge your power
And we give you our respect!
But rather than merely fear you
We ask for your protection,
For the Thunder can be your friend
If you know how to ask!
So we ask this, Gods of Thunder,
Summer storm that rolls across the land,
Protect us from your fury!
Protect us from your wrath!
Protect us from your destruction!
Protect us from your floods!
Protect us from your wrenching winds!
Protect us from the heat of your lightning!
Protect us from your eroding rain!
Protect us from your pelting hail!
Have mercy on us, Gods of Thunder!
(During the last nine lines, one candle is extinguished on each line. As the room falls into darkness, the snuffer of candles flings the rainwater into the libation well. All cry out, “Protect us!” and flee the room.)
Calendar of the Sun for June 22
22 Lithemonath
LITHA – SUMMER SOLSTICE
Colors: Yellow and gold
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and gold light eight yellow candles, incense of cedar and bay, many yellow flowers, a golden chalice of mead, another of citrus fruit juice, and as many figures of the sun as you can find or make. A great sun on a pole should be brought in procession, and one man should stand before the altar with it, and read the call and response.
Offerings: Open the House to others to share the ritual, or take it elsewhere. Like all the great high holidays, this ritual should be shared with the greater community.
Daily Meal: Yellow and orange food of any kind.
(Four who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual come forward and cast the quarters.)
North Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the North,
Guardian of the Earth!
Whose name is the Great Bear,
Whose name is Midnight Star,
Whose name is Sleep of Winter
Whose name is Constancy.
West Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the West,
Guardian of the Waters!
Whose name is the Salmon of Knowledge,
Whose name is Edge of Twilight
Whose name is Autumn Rain
Whose name is Yielding.
South Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the South,
Guardian of the Fire!
Whose name is the Coiled Dragon,
Whose name is High Noon
Whose name is Summer Solstice,
Whose name is Fervor.
East Caller: All hail the Standing Stone of the East,
Guardian of the Air!
Whose name is Hawk in Flight,
Whose name is Light of Dawn,
Whose name is Equinox,
Whose name is Wanderer.
One steps forward and pours a libation of mead onto the ground, and says:
Accept this offering, O sun above us, whose golden rays pour down and give us Life, and yet can give Death if we do not take care. Teach us to glory in your generosity and yet respect your power. Do not desert us, but burn forever in our souls.
Call and Response:
All Hail the longest day!
We have slept away the shortest night,
We have watched the wheel turn
From early darkness to early light.
All hail the highest moment of the year!
Come forth Sun and shine upon us!
Let nothing cloud your brilliance!
Let nothing cloud your light!
Let all your veils of rain be cast away!
Come forth and give us life, O Sun!
We stand where our ancestors stood,
We hail you on the day they hailed you,
We follow in their footsteps!
Hail Apollo of the golden chariot,
Hail Lugh Sun-Face of many talents,
Hail Ra who battles serpents each night,
Hail Amaterasu Omikami, mother of emperors!
Take joy in the morning rays!
Take joy in the noon heat!
Take joy in the sunset colors!
Take joy! Take joy! Take joy!
(One steps forward and says:)
Never forget that we live because our world, our green Gaea, is the right distance away from the Sun’s power. Further away and we would be robbed of its lifegiving rays; further in and we would be burned to death by them. Never forget that life depends on the right amount of closeness and distance. Ponder this as you go your ways, and remember it every time you look up at the Sun above you.
(Another steps forward and says:)
For this is the time of the Sun’s highest glory, and like Him, we will fade and decline, and then be reborn new. For this is the way of the Universe: unending cycles within cycles. Rather than praying for an end to things, see it rather as a source of comfort that all dies and is reborn, and so nothing truly dies forever, and so nothing ever truly ends.
Song: Oak and Ash and Thorn
Good Friday To All My Dear Friends!
Good Friday Morning/Afternoon to all of you! I hope you are having a very blessed day. I am sorry I am running late but there is no rest for the wicked, lol! Every time I say that my husband looks at me and asks, “what have you been up too?” That just happens to be one of my favorite sayings. I am not a wicked or evil person. But when you work your butt off and people come along leave crap on the floor or make a mess. It seems these people are trying to push you to the edge, turn you wicked. Does that make any sense? I am sure it does to those who have picked up a living room. Then have two grown men come in and mess it. I blew a gasket last night with both of their butts. I told them if they do it again, I was going to beat them with a wet noodle.
Anyway, you might be wondering what the little farm girl has to do with witchcraft. Nothing, lol! It has to do with me. I am running late because I had some chores to do. Hmm, that reminds me of a song that will tell my story, and oh, woe is me, it is ……………
Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin’ is the life for me.
Land spreadin’ out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
New York is where I’d rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.
…The chores.
…The stores.
…Fresh air.
…Times Square
You are my wife.
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.
Green Acres Lyrics by Vic Mizzy
source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/greenacreslyrics.html
‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for June 21
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Isn’t it true that when someone days something is wrong, our first thought is, “What have I done wrong now?” That constant fear of having a finger of accusation pointed in our direction – that guilt complex that can plague us into admitting guilt when it isn’t ours.
Shakespeare wrote, “The mind of guilt is full of scorpions.” And surely it is. For we often take more on with a feeling of guilt than is required of us. It is more often a feeling of fear; fear of being ridiculed, blamed, or even threatened.
A guilt complex can be erased. Not in a day, and maybe not completely, unless we are dedicated to keeping it out of our minds. We are so prone to throw fuel on the fire that we must always be completely aware of the thoughts we entertain.
But certainly, with turning to our innate faith and wisdom we can find enough courage to recognize the ghosts of guilt and see them for what they are.
Perhaps in the final analysis we find we were not guilty at all. We feel relieved, but if we were guilty, the relief of admitting mistakes is just as great.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.
Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet:
http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org
Elder’s Meditation of the Day June 21
“The god that people reject is not the true god, it is a god they have conjured up apart from proper education, and understanding. In such cases, the least Fools Crow will do is to call their assumptions into question, and force them to reevaluate their position.”
–Thomas Mails on Fools Crow, LAKOTA
Inside of every person – man, woman, and child – is the knowledge that there is a Supreme Being. Many of us have been taught that the Creator is a punishing God. We have been taught about feelings of guilt and shame when we do things wrong. We have been taught that God gets angry and disappointed with us. The Elders teach us that the Creator is a loving and forgiving God. He loves us during our good days and He loves us during our bad days. He doesn’t know how to do anything but love. If I really want to find out about the true God, I only need to ask in prayer. There is one thing that God cannot do and that is refuse help to one of His children who asks.
My Creator, I ask You to be a part of my life today. Whisper to me Your wisdom. Let me feel Your presence. If I am doubtful and afraid, show me, in terms I can understand, You are real.
June 21 – Daily Feast
Chances are we never recall just when we made the biggest decisions in our lives – unless we can remember some of our quietest moments. We think of change coming with fanfare, but that so seldom happens. Most of the time we silently recognize the great things in our lives long before we bring them our to be known by everyone. It is hard to say just when the change began. Some of it is even ga lv quo di, sacred to us, not easily shared – nor wise to share, because it is our own that comes from somewhere deep within us. There is an inner life that makes changes easier because it prepares us to accept what we cannot change – and more importantly, to change what we can.
~ The whole world is coming. A nation is coming, a nation is coming. The Eagle has brought the message to the tribe. ~
WOVOKA
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
Daily Motivator for June 21 – Don’t worry
Don’t worry about what you must do. Just get going and get it done.
Don’t worry that there’s not enough time. Just make full, purposeful and effective use of the time you have.
Don’t worry that there’s not enough money. Focus instead on the ever-present opportunities to create value.
Don’t worry about what others might say or think or do. Use your time, energy and resources in accordance with your own highest vision.
Don’t worry about what has already happened or what might occur in the future. Now is the moment in which you can act, and now is where your awareness belongs.
This is your beautiful, precious and amazing life, so don’t contaminate any of it with useless worry. Instead, live it fully, richly, peacefully and confidently as each wondrous day unfolds.
— Ralph Marston
Daily OM for Thursday, June 21 – Working with Angels
Graceful Guidance
by Madisyn Taylor
Our angels are here to help us and by calling on them for assistance they are able to do their job.
At some point in our lives, we are likely to find ourselves asking for help, perhaps from no one in particular, and without knowing where help could possibly come from. We may have raised our eyes skyward or whispered our need under our breath only to find that somehow we were heard, and the help we needed arrived. It might have come in the form of a person who appeared at the right time, or perhaps it came in the form of luck, chance, or divine intervention. However assistance appears, these are times when we can be sure that there are angels watching over us.
We may find ourselves asking for their help with simple things—like finding a parking spot or to watch over loved ones—but then we forgot to call on them when we found ourselves alone or in pain. We don’t need to be aware of them to receive their assistance, but there is comfort in the knowledge that they are there for us when we need them. And when we remain open to their presence, we can call on them whenever we need them to connect and be nurtured by their ethereal and heavenly energy.
As symbols of grace and gentle encouragement, they can offer us comfort as they enfold us in their wings or lift our spirit as they take flight. We may be warmed by their glow, guided by their gentle nudges or inspired by their whispers in our ears. We may hear the name of our angel and feel a personal connection, but it isn’t necessary. All they need is to be heard, to see us benefit from their guidance and perhaps to hear a word of thanks sent their way every now and then. Whether they appear in the guise of a helpful stranger, or as a thought that suddenly occurs to us, angels are our loving guides from the spiritual realm, who with a brush of their angelic wings help us to make the most of our human experience by balancing it with the spiritual awareness that all things are possible and that we are not alone.
Secret, Ancient Rites of Stress
by Tostito Tramp
I am so stressed from my friend Earthbeam stressing out my friend Uberwurm that I think I need some relief. It occurred to me that others may be in the same boat — to be specific, the S.S. Stress, which sails out of Shit Happens Harbor. There is new research that points strongly to this being the very boat that carried Amun Re through the underworld — and why not? What could be more stressful than that whole Egyptian afterlife fooferah? For those of you experiencing stress, I offer this ancient yet timely ritual to propitiate that god of modern life, Stress.
I would like to take a moment to stress (ha, ha) the utmost antiquity and lineage of the occult methods that you are about to read. The ancient Sunkurians knew the unpleasant tension of their lives by the name Nekhurt. Nekhurt Nekhurt Bibastos Nekatut translates to “shit that fucking shit deity screwed me again.” Doctors Pesty and Moreseau question this and have suggested the alternative “damn me, damn him, we screw it up,” which contains intriguing hints at modern philosophy concerning responsibility for one’s own circumstances, as well as divinity lying within ourselves. The Sunkurians conducted special weekly and biannual ceremonies to appease Nekhurt, so that he might take pity upon them and make their lives a little less miserable.
We find a less well-known ritual influence among the Vikings, who despite being a freewheeling and uninhibited people still offered up votive gold goat figurines to the great goat GnashJaw, sometimes referred to as Toothgrinder, the infamous third goat who always pulled Odin’s cart the other way. Even today, we find the expression “third wheel” to designate someone as a source of stress for those around them.
For etymologists, it is interesting to consider the similarity between GnashJaw (originally spelled Gnashja) and the name of the Indian god Ganesha, known as the Lord of Obstacles! Many insights can be gleaned by dwelling upon the mystical truths embodied in Ganesha’s characteristic creature, the elephant. Consider the notoriously long memory of the elephant (hint: what more stress relieving phrase is there than “just forget about it”?). Consider the deep wrinkles covering elephants, demonstrating in the very flesh a lifetime of anxiety. This secret stressful characteristic of memory is also expressed by the Greeks in the story of Odysseus. What an easy time of it he could have had if he had just stayed with Calypso, or with Circe, or even just been a happy little piggy chomping on Circe’s garbage!
Of course the Hermetic magicians and alchemists of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries regularly made sacrifice and propitiation to the great power Inhibitus Obsessus. It is in their rituals that the forms we know today first come into focus. According to Goutish Cornish of the Flemish Museum of the Scottish Gnomish, stress (in other words the inexorable workings of Inhibitus Obsessus) is credited as the object of over 86.3 different traditional sayings, rituals and superstitions among the Scottish Gnomish people of the Middle Ages. And why not, eh? Middle age is extremely stressful. At least we in modern times only spend a brief time in middle age. Imagine generations of people living there for their entire lives! Going to the dentist before anesthesia!
This century has witnessed both the rise of stress and the rediscovery of these ancient ways of appeasing it. It starts in Britain during the twenties, where Dr. Poodle from Helsinki met the charismatic and thoroughly repressed Madame Tourniquette. Together, they founded a secret society dedicated to research into the occult causes of stress and perspiration. Although they eventually had a falling out over the inclusion of perspiration in their research agenda, their original findings and work were made public in 1952 under the magickal names Sphincter (Tourniquette) and Retention Od Avicus (Poodle). Note the interesting connections implicit in the second name, dealing as it does with the modern concept of anal retentiveness (also echoed in Touniquette’s own magickal sobriquet), as well as the traditional mental retention of Ganesha’s elephants, seen herein to be so debilitating to them.
In the self-published Gnasherbitnail, Poodle and Tourniquette first revealed the ritual presented in this article. At the time, its readership consisted of a small occult splinter group hungry for enlightenment. Now I bring it to a broader readership no less in need. I have consulted some of the premier occult minds of the Meadowbrook neighborhood as well as sparing no trouble to retranslate the ritual from the language in which it was first published. So, from the ancient Sunkurians to you, my readers, behold the authentic Secret Rites of Stress. (Disclaimer: This translation of the original Sunkurian has not been evaluated by any individual attached to an accredited scholastic institution.)
The Ritual
First you need some salt. Don’t waste it by scattering it in a circle, dropping it into water or throwing it over your shoulder. These actions are far too cavalier and messy. To appease Stress, we must pile it all into a small perfectly proportioned pyramid and then eat it. Don’t forget to align the corner of your pyramid with Sirius — and if you don’t know which corner to align, what are you even doing reading this article?
Eat the salt, and lots of it, to increase your blood pressure, get a nasty taste in your mouth and cause you to purse your lips, which is part of the Stress Mudra (more about that later on).
Water is also involved. You may drink some to alleviate your parched throat and cracking lips after the salt. But do not spill a drop on the floor or on your ritual attire. Robes, you say? What robes? This is a stress ritual! It is to be conducted in a suit and tie or a corset and three-inch heels. (Notice I made no indication of criteria to choose which outfit to wear, so if you bridled at my sexism, then you have only your own straitjacketing and chauvinistic presumptions to blame.)
You are allowed 1.2 ounces of water. It must be perfectly pure. Read those labels carefully; contact the bottler if necessary; you may even have to distill it further a few times yourself. If you use too much, then Stress will be displeased, because by association and correspondence and all that uptight magickal twaddle you are allocating your emotions more than their acceptable time and energy. So drink your 1.2 ounces of water with great care and deliberation. Keep those emotions in check!
I can see that you traditional ritualists are just itching to light up some incense about now. Yes, the rolling eyes and urgent, furtive glances toward the altar give you away. Well, you know what? No. N-O. There will be no incense in the Stress ritual. It is just far too hippie dippy earthy crunchy touchy feelie. Suck it in and push on! That is the way to the Stress Deity’s heart.
Now we cast the circle. This is where that 9-foot cord comes in handy. Get a pencil or pen and tie it to the end of the cord. Do not use up too much of the cord tying it to the pencil. You can make up for some lost length by angling the pencil out as you draw the circle, but it will only make up for a little. Next, find the center of your ritual area. This will require some measurement and possibly mathematics. If you can’t cope with that, then your best bet is to postpone the ritual until you feel sufficiently stressed to be motivated to find the center of your ritual area properly. `Nuff said!
Once you find the center, pound a nail into the floor. No outdoors Stress rituals allowed. If you attempt it, the godhead will smite you with agonizing inner accusations of “cheater, cheater” for a very long time. Tie the other end of your cord to the nail. Watch out now! You are really starting to lose some length here. Then slowly and carefully draw the circle on your floor using your cord like a compass. Do not let the cord go slack! Do not change the angle of the pencil! Do not stop and redraw that bit that you missed! If you foul up, you should again wait until you have sufficient incentive to get it right.
As you draw the circle, you must visualize a reddish black line of energy exactly corresponding to your pencil line. You should channel your personal stress into this line. While casting the circle, the following should be sung in the key of D minor (remember it is the saddest of all keys):
With this pencil I describe
The perimeter of my Stress bribe.
The perfect accomplishment of this task
Reflects the worth of my sorry ass.
You had better end a verse as you are completing the circle. Anything less shows a slapdash attitude that simply will not do. If at the end you do not meet up with your starting line… you guessed it. Try again some other time.
I must pause briefly to assure my international readers that I in no way wish to make it impossible to conduct these important mysteries accurately and correctly. So after consultation with my in-house magicians, witches, linguists and historians, we recommend the following substitutions: 35.732 milliliters of water, a 274.32-centimeter cord and 7.62-centimeter heels if that is your chosen footwear. The national baseline of meticulousness should be consulted to indicate whether you need to exert yourself additionally to propitiate Stress.
Now take your 11.6 inch (29.464 centimeter) lacquered blackthorn wand and stand facing 3 degrees north of east, as derived from true north. Your local longitude and latitude will indicate the correction to use to arrive at true north from magnetic north. It is time to assume the Stress Mudra!
Stand with your feet together, weight evenly distributed. Your knees should be locked (disclaimer: the author assumes no responsibility for any fainting resulting from spending too long in the Stress Mudra). Tuck your butt, straighten your back, pull your shoulders down and back, reach your arms behind you as far as you can, wrinkle your brow, purse your lips, clench your teeth and press your tongue against the bottom of your mouth. Now tighten every muscle in your body and bring to mind the most humiliating scolding you ever received.
Facing 3 degrees north of true east in your Stress Mudra, groan once with full energetic vibration from your fifth chakra. Simultaneously bring your wand in front of you with your projecting hand (for those who don’t know, this is the hand with which you flip people off). While slowly correcting your facing to true east, using the same reddish black stress energy as before, draw in the air the Rider-Waite Ace of Swords Tarot card. Don’t forget the border and the little yods (those are the two-ended flamy-spermy things that were probably just a leaky pen but got passed off as kabalistic truths). While you are doing all that, recite with full energetic vibration from the fourth chakra the first Stress Affirmation:
I must perfectly recall everything I ever learned, or by Obsessus I suck!
As you say suck, release all the tension in your body and fall backwards into a limp heap on the floor. Your fourth chakra must fall exactly on the center of your circle. Don’t forget to remove the nail first!
Get back up and face 2&fraq12; degrees west of true south. Assume the Stress Mudra as before. This time, draw in the air a group of hydrogen molecules fusing into a helium molecule. Simultaneously correct your facing to true south and recite the second Stress Affirmation:
If everything I want does not manifest instantly, then by Gnashja I suck!
Again, fall completely relaxed on the floor, but this time land with your third chakra on the center of the circle.
Repeat at the remaining directions, with these details: West should be 5 degrees south of true west; draw a map of the world’s oceans and recite “I must never allow my feelings to influence me or by Inhibitus I suck!” Vibrate from your second chakra and land with it on the circle’s center.
North is true north; draw your house. Recite “If I am not healthier and wealthier than anyone I know, then by Nekhurt I suck!” Vibrate from your first chakra and land with it on the circle’s center. Be careful not to injure your tailbone.
By now, you should be feeling the immense tension of your life building in your body, mind, and spirit. If you don’t, pause here to make sure that you are fully aware of the Stress in your life. Otherwise, the ritual is completely useless, and you should have known you would fail at it and never have started it in the first place!
Now assume the Stress Mudra at the center of the circle, facing the direction that corresponds best to your personal stress (this would be the one with the Stress Affirmation that you hated saying the most). Recite 19 times:
“It is all my fault!”
Now release all the stress. If the ritual has been correctly done up to this point, you will know how to do that. Otherwise, do not attempt this Great Mystery, for you may injure yourself, betray everyone you care about, anger the Stress Deity, summon by mistake the ex-lover with whom you broke up bitterly and cause all the people you hate to get raises or even better jobs.
Once Stress is released, you must ensure Stress will not return. Therefore, perform all the steps that lead up to the Great Mystery backwards. It may take you a while to practice saying the affirmations backwards, as well as springing smoothly up from the floor into the Stress Mudra. Don’t forget to include any extraneous actions you took during the course of the ritual.
Did you get through it? If you did, congratulations! Your life will now be perfect.
If you didn’t, Stress will eventually forget this botched attempt at propitiation and go back to only heaping upon you your normal daily allotment of frustration, pain, anxiety, ignominy, humiliation, boredom and illness. Better luck next time.
The Witchcraft Chronicles 
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