By Fire Well and Tree

It's a DOOZY too. Starts off with a solar eclipse, and then full moon around Samhain. It's also our last "moonth" of the year, as if you're following the same version of the wheel of the year that I do, Samhain is the new year, so we'll start the cycle again. I may or may not keep up with the astrology stuff, I may change my tune and emphasize something else.  So as we start, The sun is in Libra, and so is the New Moon on Saturday, October 14. Libra is about partnerships and balance, and yes, justice, but maybe not with a capital J. We can spend a lot of time trying to make sure everyone is treating us JUST RIGHT, but remember as scales balance, they sort of wobble back and forth, one side lower and the other higher. The sun and moon, our outward and inner selves, these are things we often strive to keep in balance, sometimes giving too much, and other times pulling back too far, but always returning to that equilibrium. Whatever house this is in for you m...

  Day 1:  Offerings to the Fro Ing and Frea, and the corn dolly from my garden.   You can't see it, but the green and yellow candles ARE lit, just super small flames (wick problems).I got Yarrow as an omen. The crystal grid is basically a calendar, with the stone for Haelig (Mabon) on the top (and for the first quarter moon on the inner circle).  The new corn dolly is under the black tulle, kind of. Yay, it's here! As of Saturday (9/23) at 2:50 in the morning Even though my favorite 'slice' of the pie that makes up the Wheel of the Year is now over, officially, I don't dislike autumn.  There's all sorts of secular things I love about this time of year: football, pumpkin spice lattes (don't hate), finishing up the harvest of my garden and cleaning it up for the winter, watching the leaves change color... I swear it's like Mother Earth is putting on her own chunky cardigan. Also I love chunky cardigans. I also love that it's still warm enough to be out...

  Photo by Alina Vilchenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/food-people-party-winter-15574288/ "Libra-season" starts in the middle of this moonth, but we have to get ready for that with the New Moon in Virgo.   (I really like this photo I got from Pexels, and now I want to start staging my own....) We talked about Virgo last moonth, and so we can still continue on with that.  That detail oriented, planning energy is still here and it's a good thing to do at the new moon anyway (September 14), when we are setting our intentions.  This is especially true now as until a week or so again, we had SEVEN planets in retrograde (everyone BUT Mars).  Venus went direct on September 3, and Mercury goes directly TODAY (September 15) and the rest not for a while. Mercury also rules Virgo, so the fact that I am writing and posting this the day AFTER the New Moon is probably just a coincidence. Anyway... so for this New Moon in Virgo, take extra  care with your plans an...

  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 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” ...

Photo by Riccardo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/ice-river-photography-300857/ GOOD NEWS!  I found a web page (two actually) that has reconstructed an Anglo-Saxon calendar. The good news is that I wasn't far off with my own haphazard timing of things.   This  is the one I'm using. The other one is only off by a day, and seems to be depending upon whether they are starting it when the moon is dark, or just the first sliver.  Either way, I can now assign those brains cells to other things. For our month names.. The Anglo-Saxon month is Solmōnaþ, which seems to be "mud month" or "month of hearth cakes."  Commentators I read seemed to think these hearth cakes were mud-like so that would be the two names?  From the Gauls, it is Rivros (Riuros), which is "cold month," and the Almanac terms the full moon for this month "Snow Moon."   I sense a theme.... Kondratiev's next line from the Song of Amergin is "I am a lake on a plain."  He...

 This is not the prayer I wanted to write today. :'( Photo by  Polina Kovaleva  from  Pexels Gods of Justice You who hold the balance of the scales You who know that when one dips too low, the other must also dip low to rebalance Unless the other does not  The scales will tip back and forth And slowly settle Unless something disturbs them again Let your voices be heard  In the ears of those angered In the manner in which they will accept your words "Someone must be the first. No matter who started it Someone must say enough And not pile more on their pan And set the tilt in motion again Be the first." So be it.