Gibbous Moon phase

"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."

11th Day of the 8th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Hera
Lunar Tree Cycle ~ Tinne/Holly
14th Day of the Celtic Tree
Month of Tinne/Holly
Moon Phase: Gibbous Moon - 10:24PM
Moon sets: 1:57AM EDST
Moon rises: 5:35PM EDST
Moon in the Mutable Fire Sign
of Sagittarius
Rhiannon's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The gift of eros.
Sun in Cancer
Sunrise: 6:07AM EDST
Sunset: 8:45PM EDST
Solar Question for the Day: "What is
the source of your courage?"
Beltaine (Calan Mai) Quarter
of the Year
July 21st., 2010

Gibbous Moon - Well, here we are - almost half through this lunar cycle - the Full Moon will be this Sunday.  The Keywords for the Gibbous Moon phase are: analyze, prepare, trust. It is the time in a lunar cycle to process the results of the actions taken during the First Quarter. Have you started on any of your goals, are your seeds of goals started sprouting?  During this phase you are gathering information. Give up making judgments, it will only lead to worry. Your knowledge is incomplete. Laugh. Analyze and filter. LOOK WITHIN.

Woden's Day -  Mercury Day - the day of Communication and Connection....  There is Major magickal energies today for Flying - and this doesn't mean in a plane, but more like astral flying...  let your imagination soar.  There are minor magickal energies for doing spells/rites of divination, and elemental magick.

The Eco-Witch

   In the present era, many environments that are natural to use are in fact entirely unnatural; urbanization has left very few places untouched. Once, the quest was to achieve civilization in conjunction with, or despite, nature; nowadays, it is to reestablish contact with the Mother we are destroying. We are faced with a peculiar situation in which we may grow up surrounded by the natural or seminatural, yet be entirely closeted in our manmade environments.
  The witch endeavours to re-establish a sense of balance. She/he does not desire to mindlessly manipulate natural resources; she hopes to work with them without negative side effects. Capitalism, colonisation, and short-term thinking are leading us to environmental disaster.  Governments are always blithe about this because they think in terms of short spans of control (no longer than the time they will be in office). They certainly have no intention of preserving resources for generations not yet born. The witch is acutely aware of the natural balance of things (or should be), and of the karmic debts we have to less-fortunate cultures and other species.
    The witch is always environmentally aware. She/he recycles her bottles and as much as the rest of her garbage as possible, and does her bit for whatever issues she feels are of particular relevance at the time such as saving a local wood from being turned into a parking lot, for example, or petitioning against the unnecessary fuel emissions from industry and on the roads.

    Today I am suggesting that more of us consider using bicycles instead of our gas guzzling vehicles.
From an article I read this morning:  "The bicycle has many attractions as a form of personal transportation. It alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, increases physical fitness, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon dioxide, and is priced within the reach of the billions of people who cannot afford a car. bicycles increase mobility while reducing congestion and the area of land paved over. Six bicycles can typically fit into the road space used by one car.

  For parking, the advantage is even greater, with 20 bicycles occupying the space required to park a car. Few methods of reducing carbon emissions are as effective as substituting a bicycle for a car on short trips. A bicycle is a marvel of engineering efficiency, one where an investment in 22 pounds of metal and rubber boosts the efficiency of individual mobility by a factor of three.

    The bicycle is not only a flexible means of transportation; it is ideal in restoring a balance between caloric intake and expenditure. Regular exercise of the sort provided by cycling to work reduces cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and arthritis, and it strengthens the immune system."

   The article talks about how in the Netherlands (an industrial country) that 27% of all trips are made by bike.... here in the US we at only 1% of all trips.... and also Britain is only 1%.  Denmark and Germany are 18 and 18% respectively.  We have to remember that when we use our gas guzzling broomsticks, we are contributing to disaster like in the Gulf.  While at present time I don't have a bike - I gave mine away to a needy young person in a large city this spring - I am 67 years old and live in very hilly country and have allowed myself to get in very poor physical condition - I feel I can still speak up and suggest this option to traveling be considered whenever possible... In the meantime I do a lot of walking. 
   So here is the link to the article:
http://www.alternet.org/story/147543/the_bicycle%27s_big_comeback%3A_why_two-wheelers_are_key_for_reducing_oil_dependence

  Read it through and give thought to it.  We can at least petition our local government to promote more biking options. 

Now here is a parking garage!!