and open to Her Wisdom."
19th Day of the 12th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Demeter
Lunar Tree Cycle ~ Ngetal/Reed
Celtic Tree Cycle ~ Ruis/Elder
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous moon
Moon sets: 9:55AM EST
Moon rises: 7:27PM EST
Moon in the Cardinal Water Sign of Cancer
Rhiannon's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The truth of the imagination.
Sun in Sagittarius
Sunrise: 7:29AM EST
Sunset: 4:51PM EST
Solar Question for the Day: ""Where do you need to exercise
self-control?"
Samhain (Calan Gaeaf) Quarter of the Year
December 4th, 2009
Freya's Day (Friday) - this is Venus' Day, the Day of Sharing and Relationship. Friday is named after the Norse goddesses of love, Freya and Frigga. There seems to be some debate as to whom the day is actually named after. Both Freya and Frigga were Norse goddesses who are the Teutonic equivalent of Greco-Roman Venus/Aphrodite. However, Freua was one of the Vanir - the gods of fertility who supervised the land and sea - and she was the leader of the Valkyries. Frigga, Odin's wife, was the goddess of the heavens and of married love. She was one of the Aesir - the gods associated with battle, magick, and the sky. Freya and Frigga could be looked upon as different aspects of the same goddess. They both were called on to assist in childbirth and then in the naming of the new baby. Frigga represents the faithful wife and loving mother, while Freya, who really captured the hearts and imaginations of the Norse people, was the passionate mistress and lover.
Fridays classically are days for love, fertility, romance and beauty magick, as well as working for happiness, harmony in the home, and friendship..... gives a whole different meaning to the phrase TGIF doesn't it. LOL
This Freya Day the Moon, ruler of our emotions, is in the Cardinal Water sign of Cancer. Among other aspects of our lives Cancer is a sign the encourages emotions, nostalgia and the need to nurture.
So you made find yourself feeling strong emotions about nostalgia over Christmas' past.
Making a Sabbat Wheel
One addition to the altar is the Sabbat Wheel. This is a stone or wooden disc inscribed, or otherwise decorated, with images to represent the Sabbats. If made of a soft stone, such as slate, then the images can be sketched on with pencil and then carved into the surface face. A circular wheel is easy to make, and a simple plain round breadboard can form your basis. First, divide it into eight equal segments, like the spokes of a wheel. Symbols can then be burnt or carved into into each of the segments, drawn or painted, or even created from gemstone chips, seeds, etc.
Alternatively, you could press plants which represent each Sabbat and glue them into place, sealing it with a clear coat of varnish. Some ideas for the decorations are: Imbolg: candle, Snowdrops; Oestera: eggs, the Hare, Primroses; Beltane: Maypole, Besom, Chalice and Athame, Hawthorn blossom, Bluebells; Litha: the Sun, Green Man, Oak leaves, Sunflowers; Lughnassadh: a single stem or a sheaf of wheet, harvest loaf; Madron: scales; Samhain, Apples, Winter Jasmine; Yule: the Sun, Holly. For flowers and plants it is more meaningful to actually collect them in season in your garden or locality.
Another version of this is to embroider illustrations of the Sabbats, placing each in an eighth segment of a circular tablecloth. If you have doubts about your ability to sew directly onto cloth, then embroider pieces of cloth which are then sewn in place. This also allows several member of a group to contribute and means that each illustration can be placed on a cloth of an appropriate color if desired.
[From: Kate West's "The Real Witches' Year"]
A Witch's Life
There is no such creature as a typical Witch. We come from all strata of society, ethnic backgrounds, and income levels. Where we find nour common ground is in the ways we integrate our spiritual into our daily lives.
Unlike religions where the burden of priesthood is performed by an intermediary, Wiccans have no barriers between themselves and their deities other than those they erect themselves. We are each expected to carry our share of the ritual energy, to forge personal relationships with our deities, to behave in an ethical manner, and to do our share of the work at coven meetings or other group gatherings. We are also expected to practice our love for Mother Earth, not just give it lip service. To that end, we leave our ritual sites ncleaner than we found them, and often we leave gifts of food for Mother Earth and the creatures who walk upon her face. This is not the same as worshipping nature; instead, it is venerating nature as a tangible sign that the creator of all things is alive and well and dwelling both within us and outside us.
We go through our lives realizing - just as other faiths proclaim - that we are each created in the image of our deities. We are but microsmic versions of the macrocosmic power of the universe. Therefore, if deity can create so can we. Often you'll read or hear this expressed in the couuplet:
As above, so below,
As within, so without.
Witchcraft acknowledges - even embraces - its metaphysical aspects. We accept that not everything we see is real or that everything real can be seen by us. All religions have their metaphysical aspects in that they urge you to seek out your deities, but not all religions want you to do this for yourself, so they give you a minister, priest, or rabbi to fulfill that role. Witches know the names of many deities, and one to which she is close enough to call her patron. The Witch serves her patron/matron and the patron helps her get to where she needs to be - not always where she wants to be.
Many Pagans enjoy discussing among themselves the many ways in which the universe may work, our place within it, and our relationships with its divine elements. For these reasons, we often refer to Witchcraft as a 'mystery religion'. The only way to get where you want to go is taking a few spiritual risks.
As a mystery religion, each individual devises a unique spiritual concept and uses it as a threshold from which to embark on a series of studies transcending those of the current parameters of orthodox science. We seek to dig deeper than society wants us to go, for it is deep within ourselves that the greatest mysteries are discovered. No one should have to tell you that, as science progresses, many things that are now labeled magickal or metaphysical will come to have solid scientific explanations. Most Witches will express the belief that, someday, science will be able to fully explain why and how magick works. So far, it has proven a number of interesting confirmations from our collective beliefs, such as thatlife cycles are best described in the shape, like DNA, or that time itself is an illusion which takes us to the outer edge of its reach than draws us back to where we begun.
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