By Fire Well and Tree

Photo by Rok Romih: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-moon-on-a-dark-sky-3489072/ I probably should explain that I see Dark Moon and New Moon as different.  Dark moon is when the moon isn't visible at all. It is, for me, akin to Midnight, and so is neither one day or the next, but a liminal point between the two days.  Dark Moon for me is also a liminal point between two months.  The New Moon is the visible crescent, that first sliver, that indicates the new month.   Between light pollution and obscured horizons where I live, I tend to rely on apps, ephemeri, almanacs, and the like for my timing.  AS always, your mileage may vary and do what works for you. So anyway... The dark moon started Friday evening, but I honor the new moon today (Saturday), as the crescent (for me) is what counts as "new moon."  The moon had us in Taurus, but on Saturday (today) the new moon is in Gemini.   A good time for intellectual pursuits.  Gemini energ...

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-bowl-of-whole-strawberries-89778/ (I know what you're saying... where's the Beltaine post? Well, it's not exactly late, but it's not up yet for Reasons....you'll see). The wheel keeps turning and finally in our area we are DONE with frost!  It is well and truly heading toward midsummer. The names of these months all reflect this late spring/early summer activities. Most notably, the Almanac has named this Strawberry Moon, and in this climate strawberries should just be beginning to pop out.  I know my rhubarb plant has, and it's looking and waiting for its partners in pie! The Anglo-Saxons called it "Ærra Liða" or "Before Litha" (summer solstice).  I suppose there's not a lot of deep meaning you can get from this, except as just an appreciation for it being warmer, which I certainly share. The Gauls give us Giamonios, "end of winter" month. Around here, this is about the time ...

  Photo by Dylan Leagh: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-highland-cattle-on-grass-8954113/ At the new moon, we will actually still be in Aries, and the sun and moon will be conjunct. It is not until April 21 that both move into Taurus, and barely conjunct at that point, I think?  We also had a solar eclipse.  I know there are some who are iffy about eclipse magic, and others think it gives your magic and extra boost. Either way, you can choose to honor the Aries or Taurus.  As I (hopefully) remembered to mention last month, New Moons in Aries represent energy, enthusiasm, and new beginnings. Check your house for where.   New Moons in Taurus focus on the "seeds" planted last month to take root.  Stability, sensuality, and values are part of this sign, and Venus as its ruler brings to mind love, comfort and security. Look to your house placement and see where these seeds are to be nurtured. You could also split that difference. Raise the energy for the new...

  A little late, but not by much. I am busy getting ready for my niece's coming-of-age ritual this weekend.  More on that later. This month, and the names assigned to it, are ripe with the happenings of the season.  In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, we have  Þrimilcemōnaþ, "Month of Three Milkings."  My hunch is that this refers to the fertility of herds, where the females would be lactating a lot to support their new kids, lambs, and calves. The Gaulish calendar calls this Cutios, "Rain Month."  So far around here we are down a bit in rainfall, but I imagine that will pick up (hopefully).  And the old saying I put in the title makes the connection between this and the Almanac's name, Flower Moon. All of this points to the bursting fertility of flora and fauna, as the land basically explodes with emergent life.  I saw the first bees a week or so ago, and now they are busy pollinating. Speaking of.... yes, the spring allergies are here, which are very a...

Photo by lil artsy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-ram-on-grass-field-2397441/ Okay, finally getting the months ideas in order.  The new moon conjoined with the sun in Aries on March 21, so I'm not that late yet.  Aries is ruled by Mars and has that energy to bust through any impediments. It's a good time to be self motivated.  The new moon in Aries brings energy, enthusiasm and new beginnings, especially in the house where Aries sits on your chart.  Mine is in my first house of "self," so self improvement is my task for this month. (If you want to know where Aries is for you, maybe contact my friend Forest: her website is  https://nuicobaltdesigns.com/ or use an online astrology software site.) The first quarter moon moves from Gemini into Cancer, so square the Aries sun.  Moving from intellect to feeling and emotions, pay attention to emotions but the fiery energy of Mars can make those more intense, and we can get easily overcome. The Full mo...

  Æ Photo by Johann Piber: https://www.pexels.com/photo/full-moon-over-snow-covered-mountain-6531876/ The new "moonth" was a few days ago, and as I mentioned...Covid.  But, the moon doesn't care about my issues. so here we go. As far as month or moon names go, this month is called Ogronios in the Coligny calendar.  In our grove, we translate this to "End of of Cold Month. "  We honor the Earth Mother and bless the earth by collecting soil from the four corners of our properties and mingling it at the sacred center.  In the group ritual, this often translates to bringing in dirt from all our properties and mingling it, so that wherever we are, we are all standing on the "same ground," as another way to share the sacred center.  We like to call it "making sacred dirt."  It puts me in mind of an Anglo-Saxon ritual, Æ cerbot , which is a heavily Christianized blessing rite for a farmer's fields.  (I am trying to repaganize it for my own garde...

A wide purple clover path through lightly wooded area Whether you call it Ostara or not, the vernal equinox has come (a few days ago. And I'm sorry this is late, but thank Covid.) Again, I am blessed to be living where all four seasons tend to correspond to the calendar, more or less, so the 8 Sabbats match up pretty well.  Being a part of the local pagan community means that I have two rites planned, one of which I'm leading (pending  negative Covid test, of course).   Equinoxes have the theme of balance for me, always. Light and dark are mostly even, or as close as one can get.  Per timeanddate.com, we got 12 hours and 8 minutes of daylight on the equinox itself (March 20).  We had EXACTLY 12 hours on March 17.   Why is three days early? I originally thought it was the imperfections of our modern calendar.  But I also had to look it up too. Stepping back a little bit, many of you probably already know the word “equinox” comes from “aequus” ...