Moon Goes void of course late tonight - April Fool's Day

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

29th Day of the 3rd Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Hecate
Lunar Tree Cycle of Nion/Ash
15th Day of the Celtic Tree
Month of Fearn/Alder
29th Day of the Cycle of Raven -
Days of Raven
Moon Phase: waning Balsamic
Moon rises: 5:50AM EDST
Moon sets: 6:15PM EDST
Moon in Pisces v/c 11:12PM EDST
Ceridwen's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The compassionate
surrender of night.
Sun in Aries
Sunrise: 7:05AM EDST
Sunset: 7:43PM EDST
Solar Question for the day: "What
is being initiated in your life at
this time?"
Imbolc (Gwyl Mair) Quarter
of the Year
April 1st, 2011

Freya's Day - Venus Day, Day of Sharing and Relationships....there are minor magickal energies today to resolve quarrels with friends, lovers.  

April Fool's Day - From Kate West's "The Real Witches' Year"

  The practice of playing tricks on 1 April dates back to 15th-century France, when the New Year was moved from 25th of March and the beginning of Spring to the 1st of January.  This was so unpopular that people began sending officials on 'fool's errands' in retaliation. However, this is a good day to consider the nature of the Fool and his association with the Craft.
    Fools have long been considered to be blessed by the Gods; indeed it used to be thought lucky to meet one on the way to work. The Fool is the first card of the Tarot where he represents the start of the magical journey and the step into the unknown. He is also still represented in decks of ordinary playing cards by the Joker or Jester. The Fool is also linked with the Jester in his role of storyteller, or Bard, who travelled around taking news from place to place. Not only that but with connotations of riotous frivolity he is associated with fertility festivals, and may appear as the Teaser in midsummer Rites. His staff or wand with bells relates back to the sticks which were used to beat fertility into the population at the festivals of Pan. Hence he is linked with the trickster Gods Puck and Loki.
     To gain a greater understand of the Fool, take this card from a Tarot deck and place one green and one red candle on either. Light them and focus on the image before you. As you meditate on it, consider the journey of the Fool: where is he going? Who will he meet?

"With a fool no season spend

or be counted as a friend."

____   The Wiccan Rede

From "Seasons of the Witch" Datebook

April Fool's information, etc.

    April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on the April 1 of every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day where many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness. The day is marked by the commission of good humoured or funny jokes, hoaxes, and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc.

The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.





While most other holidays have a history of their own, April Fools" Day's history is somewhat clouded. Some stories suggest the April Fool's tradition started back in 1582 in France. Before then, the new year was celebrated for eight days beginning on March 25 with the celebration culminating on April 1. Following the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced and New Year's Day was moved to Jan. 1.



In those days, communications were very slow and in some cases people did not receive news for as long as several years and others, obstinate folks, refused to accept the date change anyway and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. They were called fools by the general public. Those folks were subjected to ridicule and often they were sent on foolish errands or made the butt of practical jokes.



Over time, the harassment evolved into a prank-playing day on the first day of April. Eventually the tradition spread to England and Scotland by the 18th century and was later introduced to the American colonies, both the French and the English.



There are a number of hoaxes which rank high even today, such as the aforementioned British spaghetti story. One story relates to a call to the station asking how to obtain a spaghetti tree. The station's response was to place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.



Another tale tells of the time back in 1962 when there was only one TV channel in Sweden and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert appeared in the news and announced that, thanks to new technology, viewers could convert their sets to display color by pulling a nylon stocking over their TV screen. Thousands believed it. Regular color broadcasts did not commence in Sweden until April 1, 1970.



Another hoax came about in 1996 when the Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell, resulting in calls from hundreds of outraged citizens. The nerves were calmed a few hours later when Taco Bell revealed it was a practical joke.



Another, in 1976, featured a tale by a British astronomer, who said a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur with the lessening of Earth's gravity. Some people believed it. One woman reported that she and her 11 friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.



Death of a mayor: In 1998, local WAAF shock jocks Opie and Anthony reported that Boston mayor Thomas Menino had been killed in a car accident. Menino happened to be on a flight at the time, lending credence to the prank as he could not be reached. The rumor spread quickly across the city, eventually causing news stations to issue alerts denying the hoax. The pair were fired shortly thereafter.



Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune

As part of an April Fools' joke, on April 1, 1997, Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak switched hosting duties. Sajak hosted Jeopardy! that day (which featured several Wheel-inspired categories) and Trebek hosted Wheel of Fortune where Sajak and Vanna White played as contestants. Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert did double duties that day while regular Wheel announcer Charlie O'Donnell announced some parts, including the opening with Gilbert, as well as telling Sajak and White that they won $25,000 in the bonus round, which they split with their respective charities in addition to their main game winnings. A puzzle during the episode also featured Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as an answer, with the category being "Really Long Title".[44]

On April 1, 2008, Alex Trebek appeared on Jeopardy! wearing a false mustache. Also, Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak wore a bald cap underneath a wig he later removed.[45]

On April 1, 2010, Sajak appeared during Trebek's introduction during the opening of Jeopardy!. At other non-critical points in the game, such as reading the round's categories, other people appeared in place of Trebek, including Jeff Probst and Neil Patrick Harris. On that day's Wheel of Fortune, people were alerted to find 10 things "out of the ordinary" with that day's episode; the show's website even included a printable checklist noting when each abnormality would occur (but not what it would be). On April 2, the site posted a photo gallery showing all 10 mistakes, as well as the end of that day's episode in which Pat & Vanna went over each change. The gags involved Sajak, White, and announcer Charlie O'Donnell.[46]

The Price Is Right has often celebrated the day by featuring Showcases with assortments of gags, which have often included joke prizes (such as cheap items or trips to fictitious locations), or gags involving their presentation (such as most of the prizes being destroyed throughout the course of the skit). In most cases, once the contestant learned that it was an April Fools' joke, the real Showcase would consist of extravagant prizes, such as luxury and sports cars. The practice is best known from the 1980s, but was revived during the Drew Carey era; though all the prizes presented now are real, the prizes may have funny connections or may be presented in some comical way.