Category: Daily Posts

Calendar of the Sun for November 1

Calendar of the Sun

1 Blutmonath

Rite of Hela: All Souls’ Day

Colors: Black and White
Elements: Earth and Air
Altar: Upon black cloth to the right place four black candles, a skull, bones, a pot of earth, a pile of withered leaves, and a gravestone. Upon white cloth to the left place four white candles, incense, an ivory chalice of mead, a crystal sphere, and a plate of food. Veil the windows.
Offerings: Food, drink, and music given to the Dead.
Daily Meal: Today’s ritual starts at the beginning of Mousika, and continues through until the end of Sponde. Elete and Akte are spent in silent meditation before the altar. No food will be eaten nor work nor washing done until the Dead have their entertainment. Fasting until Dysis.

Invocation to Hela

Hail to Hel
Queen of Helheim
Wisest of Wights
Keeper of Secrets
Keeper of the hopes for tomorrow
Guardian of Souls
Implacable one of the frozen realm
Half the face of beauty
Half the face of Death
You who feed the dead
At your meager table
Where everyone gets their fair share,
Lady who takes away
Yet holds always promise,
Teach us to praise loss and death
And the passing of all things,
For from this flux
We know your blessings flow.

Song/Chant: Rite to Open the Door of Helheim

(Singing then commences, throughout the next several hours. Group singing and soloing alternate. It is acceptable to bring in guest performers from outside, so long as they understand that they are performing for the Dead and not the living, and that they must join the fasting. There will be no applause. Water may be provided. At the end of Sponde, the Dead are thanked and their food put to the side; Hesperis continues as usual, although there will be no food until afterwards.)

 

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Living Life As The Witch ~ Dedication and Initiation In Wicca

Witchy Comments

What are “dedication” and “initiation” in Wicca?

These things mean different things in different traditions. Usually
“dedication” ceremonially marks the beginning of Wiccan study, while
“initiation” may mark full membership in a coven/tradition (such as after
“a year and a day”) or may indicate elevation in skill or to special
clergy status. Some traditions look on all initiates as co-equal clergy,
while others have grades or “degrees” of initiation, which may be marked
by distinct sacramental ceremonies, duties or expectations within the
tradition.

Some people claim that “only a Witch can make a Witch,” whereas
others say that only the Goddess and God or demonstrated skill can make a
witch. Doreen Valiente was initiated by Gardner himself, but slyly asks
“who initiated the first witch?” Valiente and others assert that those
who choose to “bootstrap” a coven into existence (by an initial
initiation) or to use self-initiation may do so, citing the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Self-dedications are also quite common among
new practitioners and solitary Wiccans (“solitaries”).



~Magickal Graphics~

The Witches’ Correspondence for Thursday, November 1

Days Of The Week Comments

The Witches’ Correspondence for Thursday, November 1

Magickal Intentions: Luck, Happiness, Health, Legal Matters, Male Fertility, Treasure and Wealth, Honor, Riches, Clothing Desires, Leadership, Public Activity, Power and Success Incense: Cinnamon, Must, Nutmeg and Sage
Planet: Jupiter
Sign: Sagittarius and Pisces
Angel: Sachiel
Colors: Purple, Royal Blue and Indigo
Herbs/Plants: Cinnamon, Beech, Buttercup, Coltsfoot, Oak
Stones: Sugilite, Amethyst, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire
Oil: (Jupiter) Clove, Lemon Balm, Oak moss, Star Anise

Jupiter presides over Thursday. The vibrations of this day attune well to all matters involving material gain. Use them for working rituals that entail general success, accomplishment, honors and awards, or legal issues. These energies are also helpful in matters of luck, gambling, and prosperity.

Magickal Graphics

The Witches Almanac for Thursday, November 1

Days Of The Week Comments
The Witches Almanac for Thursday, November 1

*Thursday (Jupiter): Expansion, money, prosperity and generosity.

 

All Saints’ Day

 

Moon Sign: *Gemini

*Gemini: Things begun now are easily changed by outside influence. Time for shortcuts, communication, games and fun.

*Waning Moon

*The Waning Moon (from the Full Moon to the New):  is a time for study, meditation, and little magickal work (except magick designed to banish harmful energies).

Incense: Myrrh

Moon Phase: Third Quarter

Color: White

Magickal Graphics

Good Thursday Morning On This First Day of November!

Day Of

The Dead

Day Of The Dead Comments
Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takes place on November 1, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world: In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures

.A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (in Spanish calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for “skeleton”), and foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Sugar skulls as gifts can be given to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal, often varying from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on the Lago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child’s death, the godparents set a table in the parents’ home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto, a cross, a rosary (used to ask the Virgin Mary to pray for them) and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child’s life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (butterflies) to Janitzio, an island in the middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there.

In contrast, the town of Ocotepec, north of Cuernavaca in the State of Morelos, opens its doors to visitors in exchange for veladoras (small wax candles) to show respect for the recently deceased. In return, the visitors receive tamales and atole. This is only done by the owners of the house where someone in the household has died in the previous year. Many people of the surrounding areas arrive early to eat for free and enjoy the elaborate altars set up to receive the visitors from Mictlán.

In some parts of the country (especially the cities, where in recent years other customs have been displaced), children in costumes roam the streets, knocking on people’s doors for a calaverita, a small gift of candies or money; they also ask passersby for it. This relatively recent custom is similar to that of Halloween’s trick-or-treating.

Some people believe possessing Day of the Dead items can bring good luck. Many people get tattoos or have dolls of the dead to carry with them. They also clean their houses and prepare the favorite dishes of their deceased loved ones to place upon their altar or ofrenda.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

~Magickal Graphics~

Laugh-A-Day: Why Do Pagans Make New Year’s Resolutions?

Why Do Pagans Make New Year’s Resolutions?

Alexandrian/Gardnerian

To reveal this would be to break my oath of secrecy. I can say, though, that it really is an ancient rite, dating far back in time, back even before 1951, and I have learned it from an unbroken lineage. As Gerald said, it takes a resolution to make a new year.

Asatru

First, we don’t believe in a “Resolution” or a “List of Resolutions.” We believe in many lists. Second, “Making New Year’s Resolutions” is part of the three levels, or worlds, and the resolution maker simply rises from one level to another. Hail to the New Year!

British Traditional

The word “Resolution” comes from a very specific Old English word (“resolvere”), and it only properly applies to certain acts or processes of list making by those of East Anglia or those descended therefrom. As for the rest, I suppose they are doing something remotely similar to making resolutions, but you must remember that traditional resolutions are not to be confused with the modern resolutions…

Celtic

In County Hunghover on New Year’s day, they still observe Lady Resolutia’s Scribbling, which is a survival of the old pagan List Making petitionary rite. Today, modern pagans are reviving the practice, dedicated to the Tipsy Lady and the Green Scribe.

Ceremonial

“Making a List” is a phrase that summarizes many magical structures erected and timed by the practitioner to produce the energy necessary for the intention of making resolutions for the new year. For example, the astrological correspondences have to be correct, the moon has to be waxing (if the practitioner intends to follow the resolutions) or waning (if the practitioner merely wishes to keep the resolutions for reference), and the practitioner has to prepare herself through fasting and proper incantations. Note: Certain forms of invocation (summoning a list of resolutions inside your mind) can produce abnormal or even dangerous results and should only be constructed within a properly erected circle…

Chaos

Thinking in terms of “listing” and “resolutions” is simply looking at the formal, typically perceived structure of resolution making space-time. We, instead, focus on the possibility of the resolution making itself; what appears to be a random act is thus actually the norm — it is The List which is the freak of chance. Indeed, quantum mechanics now demonstrates what we knew all along: Two or more lists can simultaneously exist in the same place at the same time. Thus, by attuning ourselves to the dynamic energy (called “listing”), we can manifest the resolution. Of course, to the unknowledgeable, this appears as making a list of resolutions.

Dianic

The Lyst Mayker (“list maker” is a term of patriarchal oppression) seeks to reclaim for herself the right to make Resolutions, after it had been denied to her for centuries. By doing so, she reawakens the power of the Resolution within herself.

Discordian

You’ve got to be kidding!

Druid

Resolutions are made to arrive at the Truth, of course! Keep in mind that 99% of everything written about Making-New-Year’s-Resolutions is pure hogwash, based on biased sources. Yes, there were a few unfortunate sacrifices of list makers in the past, but that is over now…

Eclectic

Because it seems right to us at the time. We use some Egyptian-style paper and Celtic-sounding words for the Resolutions and incorporate some Native American elements into our Pen-names, like, Scribe-Who-Waffles-and-Runs-from-the-Wolves.

Faery

In twilight times and under sparkling stars, those properly trained can still see the writers making their lists. Reconnecting with these “fey-scribblers” as they write is crucial to restoring the balance between the energies of modern development and living with the earth.

Family Traditional

Growing up, we didn’t think much about “making resolutions.” A list was a list. It was made because that was what worked to get the New Year started. We focused on what worked, and we worked more with the elders of the list makers and less with all this “guardians of the New Year” business. We didn’t get our concepts of “Lists” or “Resolutions for the New Year” from Gardner, either. You can choose not to believe us since we did not “write down” on paper what was listed to us orally (which, at certain times in history, was the only way to avoid becoming New Year’s fireworks!), but that doesn’t change the facts: There were real list makers, and they really did make resolutions!

Kitchen Witch

The writers make their lists to lose weight, get a job and move away from home because they have mothers like me who are always testing new recipes on them!

Left-Hand Path

Earnest, dedicated pagans resolving to improve themselves! Do you think that is all there is to writing lists? Do you dare to know the dark side of making resolutions and the other path to self-development?

New Age

We make lists of resolutions because we chose this as one of our lessons to learn in this life. Besides, there is so much incense and bright, white paper to cover in the New Year.

Newbie

Well, ’cause I read in this really kewl book that said, like, we are supposed to make New Year’s Resolutions, right?

Posting On An Online Discussion Group

What do you mean why should we make New Year’s Resolutions????!!!??? Haven’t you read **any** of the previous posts? We’ve been [expletive deleted] debating every word of that question, painstakingly trying to come to some kind of answer. I know you wrote “all i wnted to know was why should we make a list of resolutions, im not looking for any Resolution spells” but I’m fed up with newbies who can’t even bother to REEEEEEEEAAADDD the posts on that very topic! No, this is *not* a flame. But, I and several others here have the *maturity* to properly explore and respond to this question, and we were properly trained; we *didn’t* just read a book and think we were full-fledged list writers. (phew, feeling much better after ranting.)

Solitaire

The list makers don’t want to be part of a coven.

Shaman

Making a list is a way to reconnect with the healing, visionary lifeways of the past. Wise Women have long known this, but increasingly the Wise Guy’s Movement is adding more men to the list making too.

Snert

Hey, are you guys really making New Year’s Resolutions? Can you give me a spell that will make me a list of resolutions?

Wiccan

The list maker makes a list because she feels like she is finally “coming home.” She can do it alone or with others, but she has to call to the Guardians of the Watchtowers of the New Year first … uh, after casting the circle, of course.

Source: PaganPortal.com

Turok’s Cabana

Daily Cosmic Calendar for October 31

Halloween 2012 provides some relief, productive opportunities, hope and joy, and a little trickery. The relief comes from the exceedingly long void lunar cycle in Taurus — that began on Monday and continued throughout Tuesday — to end at 11:41AM PDT today with the arrival of airy, adaptable Gemini Moon.  The productive opportunities are inherent in Ceres at 4 degrees of Cancer (8:47AM PDT) shifting from direct to retrograde motion — a reversal that will last until February 4, 2013. All Ceres themes — Mother Nature, parent-child relationship (especially between mother and daughter), nutrition and food, agriculture and gardening, productivity, grains and cereals, caregivers, drought and scarcity of natural resources — are emphasized not just at the exact moment of the station, but throughout the day. Take a good look at your diet and make sensible alterations where necessary. Lend a helping hand to shut-ins, the elderly and anyone who needs a little nurturing. Don’t let a square from Venus to Ceres (7:53AM PDT) interfere with your best efforts.  The hope and joy factors can come from the Moon in Gemini making a flowing trine to Venus in Libra (8:34PM PDT). Find novel ways to express your various artistic and literary talents.  Watch out for some evening tricks rather than treats as Mars forms a dicey, 45-degree to Saturn (11:32PM PDT). Say no to risky behavior and allow the lunar emphasis on Gemini to assist you in enjoying reading, writing and working on constructive research projects.