Yesterday’s nurturing cornucopia – in which the Moon united with Neptune and Chiron in Pisces – dissipates as the red planet throws curve balls, darts and arrows at unsuspecting human souls. Early on today, the Moon parallels Mars (3:07AM PDT) – only to lead to a Moon-Mars contra-parallel several hours later (11:28AM PDT). This is due to Mars making a recent shift from being north of the Celestial Equator to south of that same cosmic circle surrounding the Earth. Meanwhile, the Sun and Moon do make an inspiring trine of 120-degrees at 4:01AM PDT, but this begins a very long void-of-course lunar cycle that lasts until 5:15AM PDT tomorrow. During this void marathon, finish old business and projects, but don’t jump-start bold, new enterprises. To add insult to injury, following a hopeful, 72-degree, Mercury-Saturn mind-strengthening sky pattern (7:41AM PDT), Mars comes back with a vengeance by making an off-kilter, 150-degree liaison with Neptune (1:58PM PDT). The combination of Mars in Libra hooking up with Neptune in Pisces in this kind of configuration can equate with a rising tide of idealistic sentiment as well as emotional intensity. Projecting angry feelings on well-meaning loved ones, friends and associates is not the answer. Put major decision-making, key signings and dealing with legal matters on the back burner until the coast is much clearer.
Calendar of the Moon for July 8
Calendar of the Moon
Oak Tree Month
Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a black cloth place the vase of oak branches, a hammer, a metal lightning bolt, a sun symbol with the rune Sigil upon it, and a Green Man with an oak-leaf face.
Offerings: Give thanks for personal victories.
Daily Meal: Serve salad with each meal, arranged in the circular pattern of the Green Man.
Duir Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the Sun’s height.
Response: Now is the time when the leaves reach to the heavens.
Call: Now is the time when the Oak King spread his arms.
Response: Now is the time when we reach with him for the Sun.
Call: Now is the time when we return to the ancient grove of the Druids.
Response: Now is the time when we witness the Sun’s sacrifice.
Call: Now is the time when we go forth in glory.
Response: Now is the time of the turning of the year.
Call: Hail to the wren, soul of the Oak King!
Response: Hail to the sky, crown of the Oak King!
Call: Hail to the Earth, bed of the Oak King!
Response: Hail to the Sun, lover of the Oak King!
Call: Hail to the guardians of the door!
Response: May they guard us well, O oaken beams!
Call: We have no need to guard ourselves….
Response: For the Gods will guard us.
Call: We have no need to hide behind bolted doors….
Response: For now is the time to be open to the Sun!
Call: Like the Green Man, we speak through the oak!
Response: Like the Green Man, our voice is the strength of the earth!
Call: Like the Oak King, we do not fear the lightning!
Response: Like the Oak King, we will accept all repercussions!
Call: We have no shame for our actions….
Response: For all that we do, we do from a place of worthiness.
Call: For all that we do, we do from a place of honor.
Response: For all that we do, we do from a place of love.
Chant:
By my body I be earth
By my spirit I be fire
Call the lightning to my heart
Bring my soul what I desire
Calendar of the Sun for July 8
Calendar of the Sun
8 Haymonath
Justicia II: Day of Dike
Color: Dark Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of dark blue set a flaming torch, a sword, and a set of scales.
Offerings: Right an injustice, or give aid to those who do.
Daily Meal: Fasting. Instead, give readings on justice.
Invocation to Dike
High on your mountain,
Waiting for the world to turn around,
What do you see in that high view
That we do not see, here on the ground?
Lady of Justice, once a maiden
Wreathed in flowers and beauty,
Dancing with your sisters
Marking out the hours
You are now weathered and alone
Waiting out the years.
What right do we have to ask for justice
When we are not ourselves perfect?
The right of every imperfect being.
For if no one asks,
no one receives,
and then no one has an example for which to strive.
Please Lady, have patience
With our folly
Do not give up on us
And do not bend your scales
For we must learn to feel
Justice from within
For it will never come from without.
Have no mercy on our souls,
For only in this way can we learn.
Chant:
Dike Dike
Hora of the Even Hand
Well, Guess What? It’s SUNDAY! Happy, Happy Sunday To Ya!
Good Sunday Morning/Afternoon, my dear friends! How are you doing today? I hope well. It has cooled off a little here. I guess that is why I got the wild hair this morning. I have worked my poor fingers to the bones. First I when outside and cleaned out the cages of the wolf and two baby foxes. I scooped poop, put down new hay, watered, fed and a big “NO, NO” played with them. I know I shouldn’t but they are so cute. After playtime, I mean working outside, I came in an started on the house.
You know when you have all your doors and windows open, you can really see the dust, Lordie Help! I drug out the Pledge, the Sniffer and the Glass Cleaner and when to town. I even have one of those things you roll on your furniture to pick up animal air (not like the Sticky Buddy sold on TV at all). Then after I got that done, I put on a big pot of white beans. My plans for supper is white beans and cornbread fritters, Yum! Oh, yeah, we can’t for get the onion. What’s beans without an onion, I mean really? Well after all I have been into this morning, I am running extremely late.So I will wish you a very Blessed and relaxed day and be on my way.
Till next time….
Blessings, Peace & Comfort
Crystal Magick
Crystals and stones are gifts of the Goddess and God. They are sacred, magickal tools which can be used to enhance ritual and magick. Here are some of the ways of Earth magick.
PREPARING THE CIRCLE: The magick circle can be laid out with crystals and stones, if desired, rather than with herbs.
Beginning and ending in the North, lay 7, 9, 21 or 40 quarts crystals of any size around the circle, either inside the cord or in place of it. If the ritual to be conducted within the circle is of a usual spiritual or magickal nature, place the quartz crystals with points outward. If of a protective nature, place with points facing inward.
If you use candles to mark the four quarters of the magick circle rather than large stones, ring each candle with any or all of the following stones:
North: Moss Agate, Emerald, Jet, Olivine, Salt, Black Tourmaline East: Imperial Topaz, Citrine, Mica, Pumice South: Amber, Obsidian, Rhodochrosite, Ruby, Lava, Garnet West: Aquamarine, Chalcedony, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Moonstone, Sugilite A Stone Altar:
To make this altar, search through dry riverbeds and seashores for a variety of smoothly-shaped stones. Or check rock shops for appropriate pieces.
Create the altar itself of three large stones. Two smaller ones of even size are used as the base, while a longer, flat stone is placed on top of these to form the altar itself. On this place one stone to the left of the altar to represent the Goddess. This might be a natural, river-rounded stone, a holed stone, a quartz crystal sphere, or any of the stones related to the Goddess which are listed below.
To the right of the altar, place a stone to represent the God. This might be a piece of lava, a quartz crystal point, a long, thin or club-shaped rock or a God-symbolic stone such as those presented below.
Between these two stones place a smaller stone with a red candle affixed to it to represent the divine energy of the Goddess and God as well as the element of Fire.
Before this, place a flat stone to receive offerings of wine, honey, cakes, semi-precious stones, flowers and fruit.
A small, cupped stone (if one can be found) should be set to the left of the offering stone. Fill this with water to represent that element. To the right of the offering stone place a flat rock. Pour salt upon this to symbolize the element of Earth.
Additionally, another flat stone can be placed before the offering stone to serve as an incense burner.
Use along, thin, terminated quartz crystal as a wand and a flint or obsidian arrowhead for the Athame.
Any other tools which are needed can simply be placed on the altar. Or, try to find stone alternatives to them.
This can be used for all types of Craft rituals.
Stones Of The Goddesses:
In general, all pink, green and blue stones; those related to the Moon or Venus; Water and Earth-ruled stones, such as peridot, emerald, pink tourmaline, rose quartz, blue quartz, aquamarine, beryl, kunzite and turquoise.
Stones which are related to specific deities follow.
Aphrodite: salt Ceres: emerald Coatlicue: Jade Cybele: jet Diana: amethyst, moonstone, pearl Freya: pearl The Great Mother: amber, coral, geodes, holed stones Hathor: turquoise Isis: coral, emerald, lapis lazuli, moonstone, pearl Kwan Yin: jade Lakshmi: pearl Maat: jade Mara: beryl, aquamarine Nuit: lapis lazuli Pele: lava, obsidian, peridot, olivine, pumice Selene: moonstone, selenite Tiamat: beryl Venus: emerald, lapis lazuli, pearl
Stones Of The God:
Generally, all orange and red stones; stones related to the Sun and Mars; Fire and Air-ruled stones, such as carnelian, ruby, garnet, orange calcite, diamond, tiger’s eye, topaz, sunstone, bloodstone and tourmaline.
Stones which are related to specific deities follow. Aesculapius: agate Apollo: sapphire Bacchus: amethyst Cupid: opal Dionysus: amethyst Mars: onyx, sardonyx Neptune: beryl Odin: holed stone Poseidon: beryl, pearl, aquamarine Ra: tiger’s eye Tezcatlipoca: obsidian
[Pearl and coral have been mentioned in these lists as “stones” because they were anciently thought to be such. Our knowledge of them as products of living creatures leaves us with the ethical question of whether or not to use them in ritual. This must be a personal decision. Beach gathered coral and shells (mother of pearl is from shells) can be used without conflicting with the above statement because the creature has already died by the time the item was found. If you decide not to use them, just remember leather is also a product of a living creature.]
CAIRNS: In earlier times, throughout the world, people built mounds or piles of stones. These were sometimes formed to mark the passage of travelers, or to commemorate some historic even, but such cairns usually had ritual significance.
In magickal thought, cairns are places of power. They concentrate the energies of the stones used to create them. Cairns are rooted in the Earth but lift upward to the sky, symbolically representing the interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual realms.
During outdoor circles, a small cairn, composed of no more than nine or eleven rocks, can be fashioned as each point of the Circle of Stones. This can be done prior to creating the circle itself.
The next time you’re in some wild, lonely place with a profusion of stones, clear a place among them and sit. Visualize a magickal need. As you visualize, grasp a near-by stone. Feel the energy beating within it – the power of the Earth, the power of nature. Place it on the cleared ground. Pick up another stone, still visualizing you need, and set it next to the first.
Still visualizing, continue to add stones, building them into a small pile. Keep adding stones until you feel them vibrating and pulsating before you. Place the last rock on top of the cairn with firm ritual intent – affirm to yourself, to the cairn and the Earth that with this final magickal act you’re manifesting your need.
Place your hands on either side of the pile. Give it your energy through your visualization. Nurse it. Feed it strength and see your need as being fulfilled.
Then leave the cairn alone to do its work.A QUARTZ AND CANDLE SPELL: Have a candle of the color symbolic of your magickal need, according to the following list (or as your intuition tells you):
WHITE – Protection, Peace, Purity, Truth, Sincerity, Spirituality
RED – Strength, Health, Vigor, Sexual Love, Passion, Protection, Courage, Danger, Warning, Anger, Element of Fire, God oriented, Male aspects
LIGHT BLUE – Tranquillity, Happiness, Understanding, Patience, Health, Element of Water, Goddess oriented, Feminine aspects
DARK BLUE – Impulsiveness, Depression, Changeability, psychism
GREEN – Finance, Fertility, Luck, Growth, Employment, Element of Earth, Goddess oriented, Feminine aspects
GOLD/YELLOW – Attraction, Persuasion, Charm, Confidence, Intellect, Study, Divination, Element of Air, God oriented, Male aspects, (Gold) The Great God, The Sun
BROWN – Hesitation, Uncertainty, Neutrality, Healing Animals, Poverty
PINK – Honor, Love, Morality, Friendship
BLACK – Protection from, absorption Evil, loss, discord & Confusion, Lack of color and vibrations, Neutrality, Element of Akasha, Spirituality, The Divine, The Void
PURPLE – Relief from; Tension, Calming, Healing of severe Disease, Spiritualism, Meditation, Protection, Psychic Power, Element of Akasha, The Divine
SILVER/GRAY – Cancellation, Neutrality, Stalemate,(Silver) The Great Goddess, The Moon
ORANGE – Encouragement, Adaptability, Stimulation, Attraction, Energy
GREENISH YELLOW – Sickness, Cowardice, Anger, Jealousy, Discord
With the tip of a cleansed, terminated quartz crystal, scratch a symbol of your need onto the candle. This might be a heart for love, a dollar sign for money, a fist for strength. Alternately, use an appropriate rune or write your need on the candle with the crystal.
As you scratch or draw, visualize your need with crystal clarity as if it had already manifested. Place the candle in a holder. Set the crystal near it and light the wick.
As the flame shines, again strongly visualize. The crystal, candle and symbol will do their work.
Must See Photos – Finally Caught, “Bandit Behind Bars”
Bandit behind bars
Stuck in a sewer grate in Detroit, this baby raccoon was lucky to be spotted & rescued by, appropriately enough, the city’s director of public works.
Lighten Up – Are You a TechnoPagan?
Are You a TechnoPagan?
You may be a TechnoPagan if…
If your athame has a SCSI interface…
If your OBE’s begin with a netsplit…
If your priest robes conceal a pocket protector…
If you calculate the phases of the moon with Windows ’95…
If your altar has a keyboard…
If drawing down a circle is a POST (power on self test)…
If you call the Watch Towers on your cell-tell…
If you do most of your correspondence by email and sign off with Blessed Be…
If you don’t call it a ritual, you call it a Macro…
If you end a circle with Ctl-Alt-Del…
If you have ever attached ribbons to a May Pole using a staple gun…
If you invite the God and Goddess to come online…
If you keep a Disk of Shadows (with encrypted backups)…
If you participate in online rituals more than you do FTF…
If you refer to eclectic ritual as cross-platforming…
If your Beltane ritual includes more than one news group…
If your candles have batteries…
If your cauldron is a crock-pot…
If your deities include Murphy and Gates…
If your drumming is done on a CD player (pre-recorded)…
If your herbs are always mail-ordered (express, overnight)…
If your idea of a great retreat has a Computer City, electricity, and a TV nearby…
If your incense is by Glade…
If your magic wand is a light pen…
If your magical name, email address, and online name are all the same…
If your magical writing is done in binary code or C++…
If your pentacle is made of computer chips…
If your technician compains about the wax and incense ash on your motherboard…
If, instead of asking what tradition someone comes from, you ask what operating system they run…
If your Yule ritual involves defragmentation…
If your coven is spread over a 12,000 sq. mi. area…
If your Book of Shadows has a 6-digit version number…
If you refer to deities using 3-letter acronyms (ODN, LKI, THR)…
If you do cord magick with ethernet…
If you ritually down your server for Samhain…
If your altar cloth is a mouse pad…
If, when your quarter candles burn out, the UPS backup system kicks in…
If erecting the temple entails formatting more than 4 disks…
If casteing the circle changes an (int) to a (float)…
If your Star Trek screen-saver signals when your meditation period is over…
If your Beltane ritual includes more than one news group…
If passing the cakes and ale entails using a /me command…
If your search for truth involves regular expressions…
If your familiar is a computer mouse…
If you draw down the moon using a light-pen…
If your cone of power has a surge suppressor…
If your tarot cards multi-task…
If your daemons collect news for you…
If your crystal ball has a horizontal-hold control…
If you refer to solitary practice as a stand alone…
If you tap into the collective unconscious using Netscape…
If your favorite deity has a homepage…
If the address of your covenstead begins with http://…
and finally, if your circle is a token ring…
Well, you just might be a TechnoPagan!
Daily Feng Shui Tip for Saturday, July 7th
With all due respect to Erich Segal, love might mean never having to say you’re sorry, but sometimes saying you’re sorry just doesn’t cut it. So I thought I’d offer a fabulous Feng Shui cure that will allow anyone involved in the offense to share the love and forgiveness. On a plain white piece of paper using a green ink pen, write the name of the person you need to forgive or who needs to forgive you. Fold the paper in fours and place it inside any lidded clear glass or crystal (never plastic) receptacle. Cover the paper completely with honey and then seal the lid. Every night for nine consecutive nights, light a white candle close to or atop the container and silently speak your heart while offering or asking forgiveness to or from the person whose name is written on the paper. On the ninth day, allow the candle to burn down and place what’s left of the candle and the jar into a brown paper bag. Dispose of this bag somewhere outside of the house. And then, just wait. It won’t be long before an improbable opportunity arises that allows the two of you to clear the air. And then you can breathe again! Love might mean never having to say you’re sorry but this cure ensures a happy ending!
By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com
The Witchcraft Chronicles 
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