Category: Daily Posts

The Wicca Book of Days for June 15 – The June Moon

The Wicca Book of Days for June 15th

The June Moon

 

Wiccans honor the Full Moon under a variety of names during their June Esbats, depending on which of its powers they wish to highlight. Some term it the “Mead Moon,” in which case “mead” may refer to either England’s fermented-honey drink, or “meadow,” this name speaks of natural sweetness and fertility. Others call it the “Dryad Moon,” denoting the nymph that the ancient Greeks believed lived within every tree. Another name is the “Lover’s Moon,” signifying the nature of the relationship between the Goddess and Horned God at this time of year.

 

Magna Carta Day

 

June 15 marks the anniversary of the signing in England, in 1215, of the Magna Carta, the “great charter” guaranteeing certain human rights that is regarded as one of the first democratic documents. Give thanks that you live in a democratic society today, and resolve to use your vote in November.

Hey Ya’ll, It’s A Happy, Happy Day! Why? It’s FRIDAY!!! TGIF!!!

Good Morning Images, Quotes, Comments, Graphics
Good Friday morning, my friends! How is everyone doing this morning? I hope super. It is a get-away day and plus it also Father’s Day Weekend! Have you got all the special men in your life their presents yet? My husband told me something a long time ago that I now use on him, lol!

When Mother’s Day rolled around one year, I asked him why he hadn’t bought me a Mother’s Day present. He turned around and told me, I wasn’t his mother that’s why he hadn’t bought me a present. I have a memory worse than an elephant. Every year, I turn the tables on him and tell him, “he’s not my daddy, hmm!” He ought to have remembered the old saying what goes around comes around, lol!

Well let’s see what we can get into real quick…..

Ah, an Irish Blessing For You, My Friends!

When the first light of sun-

Bless you.

When the long day is done-

Bless you.

In your smiles and tears-

Bless you.

Through each day of your years-

Bless you.

Have a super day, dearies!

Gem of the Day for June 14 – LAZURITE (LAPIS LAZULI)

LAZURITE (LAPIS LAZULI)

 
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: Lazurite is a silicate of sodium calcium and aluminum, with some sulfur. It is a member of the sodalite group. It’s chemistry is (Na, Ca)8(Al,Si)12O24(S,SO)4. The color ranges in shades of blue from violet blue and azure blue thru greenish-blue. Lazurite is distinguished from sodalite by its deeper color and fine grain. It is also softer and lighter in weight than lazulite. It is dull to greasy and the streak is pale blue. The hardness ranges between 5 and 5-1/2.

 
ENVIRONMENT: Crystals are rare. It is usually granular, compact, massive. It forms in association with pyrite, calcite, and diopside in hornfels of contact metamorphic rocks. The opaque, vivid blue, light blue, greenish-blue, or violet-blue stone, consisting largely of lazurite but with appreciable amounts of calcite, diopside, and pyrite, is a rock called [lapis lazuli.] The stone is usually veined or spotted. Its value depends largely upon excellence and uniformity of color and absence of pyrite, although some purchasers prefer lapis with pyrite.

 
OCCURRENCE: Lazurite is a rare mineral in North America, but it does occur on Italian Mt. in the Sawatch Mts. of Colorado; on Ontario Peak in the San Gabriel Mts., Los Angeles Co., and in Cascade Canyon in the San Bernardino Mts., San Bernardino Co., California. The finest lapis lazuli has come from Badakshan in Afghanistan, and less valuable material has come from Russia and Chile.

 
NAME:  The name is from the Arabic [lazaward], “heaven,” which was also applied to sky-blue lapis lazuli.

 
LEGEND and LORE: Lapis Lazuli was a favorite stone of the ancient Egyptians. In the past Lazurite has been burned and ground to form the pigment “ultramarine.” It was consider an aid to childbirth, and has long been associated with altered states of consciousness and trance work. Lapis is sometimes designated as a birthstone for December, although turquoise is most common.

 
MAGICAL PROPERTIES: To quote Cunningham: “This stone is used in rituals designed to attract spiritual love. Take an untumbled piece of lapis with a sharp edge.  Empower the stone and a pink candle with your need for love. Then, using the lapis lazuli, carve a heart onto the candle. Place the stone near the candleholder and burn the candle while visualizing a love coming into your life.” Actually, the most important magical aspect of lapis is it’s ability to strengthen psychic awareness. Cunningham says “Despite its somewhat high price, lapis lazuli is one stone every stone magician should own and utilize.”(2)

 
HEALING: This stone is used at the Ajina, the Brow Chakra. It’s related gland is the pituitary. The pituitary gland is also referred to as the “master gland” because it regulates all of the others. This location is also the center for the eyes, ears, nose and brain.

——-bibliography——-
1. Scientific, Environment, Occurrence and Name are from (or paraphrased from) “The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals”.
2. Legends and Lore, Magical Properties are from “Cunningham’s En- cyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic”, by Scott Cunningham.
3. Some of the healing information may come from “Color and Crystals, A Journey Through the Chakras” by Joy Gardner.

Herb of the Day for June 14 – Echinacea

Echinacea

Echinacea purpurea

MEDICINAL:  Echinacea, also known as Purple Coneflower, is a natural antibiotic and immune system stimulator, helping to build resistance to colds, flus, and infections. It  increases the production of white blood cells, and improves the lymph glands. The tea from this herb should be used in all infections, and has been used in treating skin cancers and other cancers. Please note that if you suffer from any auto-immune disorder, you should use Echinacea, or any other immune stimulant herb, only under the guidance of a professional, such as a naturopathic doctor, TCM practitioner, etc.

RELIGIOUS:Echinacea is used as an offering to the spirits or gods and goddesses to strengthen a spell or ritual.

GROWING: Echinacea likes the prairies and other open, dry places.  It adapts to most soils, in full sun, except wet ones. It grows over most of North America. It is a perennial, and reaches to about 2 feet tall. The root is used ground, and the leaves are used for teas.

E. Coli O145 Ban Opposed by Meat Industry

by Dr. Michael Greger

 

One child is dead and 13 others sickened across six states in an ongoing  outbreak of E. coli O145. Another child—a first-grader in  Massachusetts—also died recently, but that was due to a different strain of  E. coli, O157. After the Jack-in-the-Box outbreak in 1993, E.  coli O157 was declared an adulterant, meaning it became illegal to sell  meat testing positive for the deadly pathogen. It still, however, remained  perfectly legal to sell meat contaminated with the other “Big Six”  toxin-producing E. coli strains: O26, O111, O103, O121, O45 and O145.  These strains are collectively sickening twice as many Americans as O157. For years, food safety and  consumer organizations have fought to ban the sale of meat soiled with these  other deadly strains against meat industry objections.

In the 1990s, the American Meat Institute opposed the original ban on the  sale of raw meat contaminated with E. coli O157 despite the devastating  effect this pathogen could have on vulnerable populations, especially children.  Here’s how one mother described what E. coli O157:H7 did to her  three-year-old daughter Brianna:

“The pain during the first 80 hours was horrific,  with intense abdominal cramping every 10 to 12 minutes. Her intestines swelled  to three times their normal size and she was placed on a ventilator. Emergency  surgery became essential and her colon was removed. After further surgery,  doctors decided to leave the incision open, from sternum to pubis, to allow  Brianna’s swollen organs room to expand and prevent them from ripping her skin.  Her heart was so swollen it was like a sponge and bled from every pore. Her  liver and pancreas shut down and she was gripped by thousands of convulsions,  which caused blood clots in her eyes. We were told she was brain dead.”

The ban passed in 1994 despite meat industry opposition, and now the number  of Americans dying from E. coli O157 is half of what it used to be.  Unfortunately this lesson was lost on the American Meat Institute, which  continued to fight tooth and nail against similar regulations targeting the  other Big Six strains. This week they lost. Meat known to test positive for any of these  potentially deadly fecal pathogens can no longer be legally sold as of June 4,  2012. Too late for Maelan Elizabeth Graffagnini, though—the 21-month old victim  of E. coli O145 whose funeral was held the same day.

The immediate source of the current outbreak has yet to be identified, but  the original source is always the same: feces. How contaminated is the American  meat supply with fecal matter?

What about the hundreds of thousands of Americans that die from  non-intestinal E. coli infections? Please feel free to check  out my 3-min. video Chicken Out of UTIs.

The meat industry argues that they should be allowed to sell unsafe meat  because it only poses a risk if it’s not properly cooked or handled. Ironically,  they’re also opposed to safe handling labeling. See my 3-min. video Food  Poisoning Bacteria Cross-Contamination.

In health, Michael Greger, M.D.