Balsamic Moon Phase - leaves the sign of Taurus

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

27th Day of the 6th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Hectate
Lunar Tree Cycle of Hauth/Hawthorn
16th Day of the Celtic Tree Month
of Duir/Oak
27th Day of the Cycle of Alban Heruin -
Days of Druids
Moon Phase: Balsamic - 9:39AM EDST
Moon rises: 2:43AM EDST
Moon sets: 5:42PM EDST
Moon v/c from Taurus at 12:38PM EDST
Ceridwen's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: Your special place
of peace and refreshment
Sun in Cancer
Sunrise: 5:51AM EDST
Sunset: 8:54PM EDST
Solar Question for the Day: "Are you
respecting or abusing rest and
recreation time?"
Beltane (Calan Mair) Quarter
of the Year
June 27th, 2011

Balsamic Moon - The Balsamic Moon (or waning Crescent Moon) rises before dawn and sets midafternoon. She is the last sliver of the Moon seen in the eastern sky in the dawn and in the very early evening. The Balsamic Moon is the COMPOST phase, when the nutrients remain in the soil, providing nourishment for the next new seed. The is ending of one lunar cycle and the beginning of another. Keywords for the Balsamic phase are: transition, release, transformation, renewal and purity. It is the phase in a cycle when you must let go of everything you have been working on that does not deal with this current cycle and its issues. During this phase you reflect on the passing cycle and prepare for the new. Trust in renewal. It is important to separate from others now so that you can clear the intellect of negativity. LET GO. Become still and meditate.

Moon Day - the Day of Remembering and Feeling..... Impression Day..... there are minor magickal energies for resolving domestic issues.

Rue - Rue is one of the oldest garden plants

    It has many medicinal uses, indeed its name comes from the Greek reno, meaning to 'set free'. It is used to improve eyesight and relieve eyestrain. The juice alleviates earache, and a tea made from the leaves will ease coughs. The leaves are placed on the forehead to relieve headache and can be crushed and rubbed on to alleviate the pain of sciatica. Rue leaves can also be used in salads and chewed to relieve stress, anxiety, and nervous indigestion. Sprinkled around the house the plant will drive away fleas and other biting insects. The Greeks wore it around the neck to prevent  epilepsy and vertigo. Even comparatively recently a posy containing Rue was carried by judges to guard against pestilence (plague) and goal fevers.
    Like many other plant used in magick, Rue was thought to defend against Witches and their spells, and would be planted by the gate or door to ensure the household's protection. It was also thought to bring second sight. Rue is protective, defensive, healing, strengthens mental powers and used in love magick. Inhaling fresh Rue bring mental clarity, especially in affairs of the heart. Add it to baths to break hexes or curses and hang it in windows to defend against the same. Place it in travel sachets to protect your loved ones. When fresh Rue is used as an Asperger it drives away all negative feelings.
    The expression 'rue the day' comes from the old practice of throwing rue at someone who has wronged you with the curse, 'May you rue this day as long as you live.' 
[From Kate West's The Real Witches' Year ]
From "A Modern Herbal -
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/rue---20.html

    Rue, a hardy, evergreen, somewhat shrubby plant, is a native of Southern Europe. The stem is woody in the lower part, the leaves are alternate, bluish-green, bi- or tripinnate, emit a powerful, disagreeable odour and have an exceedingly bitter, acrid and nauseous taste. The greenish-yellow flowers are in terminal panicles, blossoming from June to September. In England Rue is one of our oldest garden plants, cultivated for its use medicinally, having, together with other herbs, been introduced by the Romans, but it is not found in a wild state except rarely on the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire. This wild form is even more vehement in smell than the garden Rue. The whole plant has a disagreeable and powerful odour. The first flower that opens has usually ten stamens, the others eight only.