Spring sowing

The name March came from the God Mars, for this month was sacred to him.
Mars is much like the other God’s – Ares’s (Greek), Tiu or Tiwaz (Central Europe), Teutates (celts), and Tyr (Norse).

Astrological Signs: Pisces, February 19 – March 20, Aries, March 21 – April 20

Birthstones: Aquamarine

Nature Spirits: Mer-people, Air and Water beings who are
connected with spring rains and storms.

Animals: Cougar, hedgehog, boar

Birds: Sea crow, sea eagle

Trees: Alder, dogwood

Flowers: Jonquil, daffodil, violet

Herbs: Broom, High John Root, yellow dock, wood betony, Irish moss

Scents: Honeysuckel, apple blossom

Colors: Pale green, red-violet

Stones: Aquamarine, bloodstone

God/dess: Black Isis, the Morrigan, Hectate, Cybele, Astarte, Athene
Minerva, artemis, Luna.

Other Names: Ostre, Oestre, Eostre, Rites of Spring, Eostra’s Day, Lady Day, First Day of Spring, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Alban Eiler, Bacchanalia, Mean Earraigh, Pasch, Caisg, Pess

Date: Spring Equinox (March 20-22 in Northern Hemisphere) or when the Sun is 1 degree Aries.

Symbolism: The beginning of spring, new life and rebirth, the God and Goddess in Their youth, balance, fertility

Goddesses: all love, virgin, and fertility Goddesses; Anna Perenna (Roman), Aphrodite (Greek), Astarte (Canaanite, Persia, GrecoRoman), Athena (Greek), Cybele (Greco-Roman), Blodeuwedd, Eostre (Saxon Goddess of Fertility), Flidais (Irish), Gaia (Greek), Hera, Ishtar (Assyro-Babylonian), Isis (Egyptian), Libera (Roman), Minerva (Roman), The Muses (Greek), Persephone (Greek), Renpet (Egyptian), Venus (Roman), Ostara (the German Goddess of Fertility), Kore, Maiden, Isis, Youthful Goddesses. Faerie Queen, Lady of the Lake(Welsh-Cornish), the Green Goddess

Gods: all love, song & dance, and fertility Gods; Adonis (Greek), Attis (Greco-Roman), Cernunnos (Celtic), The Great Horned God (European), Liber (Roman), Mars (Roman), Mithras (Persian), Odin (Norse), Osiris (Egyptian), Thoth, Pan (Greek), the Green Man, Hare, Youthful Gods, Warrior Gods, Taliesin, Lord of the Greenwood (English), Dagda(Irish),Adonis (Greek)

Symbols: Eggs, rabbits, similar to easter symbols.

Purpose: Plant and animal fertility, sowing

Meaning: The God comes of age, sexual union of the Lord & Lady, sprouting, greening, balance of light and dark

Essence: Strength, birthing, completion, power, love, sexuality, embodiment of spirit, fertility, opening, beginning

Customs: Wearing green, new clothes, celtic bird festival, egg baskets coloring eggs, collecting birds eggs, bird watching, egg hunts, starting new projects, spring planting

Foods: Hard-boiled eggs, honey cakes, fresh seasonal fruits, milk punch, leafy green vegetables, dairy foods, apples, nuts, flower dishes, sprouts, fish, maple sugar candies, hot cross buns, sweet breads, milk, punch, egg drinks

Plants & Herbs: Acorn, celandine, cinquefoil, crocus, daffodil, dogwood, Easter lily, Irish Moss, ginger, hyssop, linden, strawberry, gorse, honeysuckle, iris, jasmine, jonquils, narcissus, olive, peony, rose, tansy, violets, woodruff and all spring flowers

Incense and oils: African violet, jasmine, rose, strawberry, lotus, magnolia, ginger, sage lavender, narcissus, broom

Colors: Light green, lemon yellow, pale pink, pastels, gold, grass green, robin’s egg blue, lemon yellow.

Stones: Amethyst, aquamarine, rose quartz, moonstone, bloodstone, red jasper

Animals and Mythical Beasts: Rabbits/Easter bunny, snakes, pegasus, unicorns, chicks, swallows, merpeople

Decorations: Daffodils, tulips, violet, iris, narcissus, any spring flowers, eggs, butterflies, cocoons

Spell/Ritual Work: Garden/plant blessings, seed blessing, spellcrafting, balance, growth, communication, invention, new growth, new projects

Planetary Ruler: Mars

Element: Air

Gender: Male

Threshold: Dawn

February, the second month of the current Gregorian calendar and the third month of Winter’s rule, derives its name from Februa, the name of a Roman purification festival held on the fifteenth day of February in ancient times. The traditional birthstone amulet of February is the amethyst; and the primrose and the violet are the month’s traditional flowers.
February is shared by the astrological signs of Aquarius the Water-Bearer and Pisces the Two Fishes, and is sacred to the following pagan deities: Aradia, Brigid, Juno Februa, and the Wiccan Goddess in Her aspect as the Maiden. During the month of February, the Great Solar Wheel of the year is turned to Candlemas, one of the four Great Sabbats celebrated each year by Wiccans and modern Witches throughout the world.

February Moon:

Quickening Moon

Gemstones:

Rose quartz, amethyst, jaspe

Trees:

Rowan, Myrtle

Gods:

Aphrodite, Juno, Mar, Brighid

Herbs:

Hyssop, myrrh, sage

Element:

Fire

Other Names: Imbolg (im-molc)(em-bowl’g) (Celtic), Candlemas (Christian), Brigantia (Caledonii), Oimelc, Festival of Light, Brigid’s (Brid, Bride) Day, La Fheill, An Fheille Bride, Candelaria (Mexico), Chinese New Year, Disting-tid (Feb 14th, Teutonic), DisaBlot, Anagantios, Lupercalia/Lupercus (Strega), Groundhog Day, Valentines Day.

Animals & Mythical Beings: Firebird, dragon, groundhog, deer, burrowing animals, ewes, robin, sheep, lamb, other creatures waking from hibernation.

Gemstones: Amethyst, garnet, onyx, turquoise.
Incense/Oil: Jasmine, rosemary, frankincense, cinnamon, neroli, musk, olive, sweet pea, basil, myrrh, and wisteria, apricot, carnation.
Colors/Candles: Brown, pink, red, orange, white, lavender, pale yellow, silver.
Tools,Symbols, & Decorations: White flowers, marigolds, plum blossoms, daffodils, Brigid wheel, Brigid’s cross, candles, grain/seed for blessing, red candle in a cauldron full of earth, doll, Bride’s Bed; the Bride, broom, milk, birchwood, snowflakes, snow in a crystal container,evergreens, homemade besom of dried broom, orange candle annointed in oil (see above)can be used to sybolize the renewing energy of the Sun’s rebirth.
Goddesses: Virgin Goddess, Venus, Diana, Februa, Maiden, Child Goddess, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Vesta, Gaia, Brigid, Selene(Greek), Branwen(Manx-Welsh).
Gods: Young Sun Gods, Pan, Cupid/Eros(Greco-Roman), Dumuzi(Sumerian).
Essence: Conception, initiation, insight, inspiration, creativity, mirth, renewal, dedication, breath of life, life-path, wise counsel, plan, prepare.
Meaning: First stirring of Mother Earth, lambing, growth of the Sun God, the middle of winter.
Purpose: Honoring the Virgin Goddess, festival of the Maiden/Light.
Rituals & Magicks: Cleansing; purification, renewal, creative inspiration, purification, initiation, candle work, house & temple blessings, welcoming Brigid, feast of milk & bread.
Customs: Lighting candles, seeking omens of Spring, storytelling, cleaning house, bonfires, indoor planting, stone collecting, candle kept burning dusk till dawn; hearth re-lighting.
Foods: Dairy, spicy foods, raisins, pumpkin, sesame & sunflower seeds, poppyseed bread/cake, honey cake, pancakes, waffles, herbal tea.
Herbs: Angelica, basil, bay, benzoin, celandine, clover, heather, myrrh, all yellow flowers, willow.
Element: Earth
Gender: Female
Threshold: Midnight

‘Pity me not the waning of the moon,
Or that the ebbing tide goes out to sea,
Or that a man’s desire is hushed so soon,
And you no longer look with love on me. ‘
-Edna St. Vincent Millay

February Moon Phases

Full Moon:

Feb 28  8:38 am

Full moons occur from fourteen to seventeen-and-a-half days after the new moon. Full moons are prime time for rituals for prophecy, protection, divination. Any workings that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healing for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, full moons aide work for love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money, divination, and dreams. It is said that full moon magic is like a white candle — all purpose.
Full moon magic can be conjured during the 3 days prior to the rise of the full moon, the night of the full moon and during the 3 days after.  .

Last Quarter:

FEB  5  3:48 pm

Between the full moon and the dark moon is the period of waning moon. The waning moon is best used for banishing and rejecting those things that influence us in a negative way. Negative emotions, diseases, ailments, and bad habits can all be let go and special spells for clearing can be performed at this time. Saging your home is a great idea during this time.

From three-and-a-half to ten-and-a-half days after the full moon.The waning moon is used for banishing magic, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity.

New Dark  Moon:

FEB 13  6:51 pm

The new moon is for starting new ventures, new beginnings. Also a good time for love and romance, health or job hunting, anything that is for personal growth, healing and blessing of new projects or ventures. The new moon is also a good time to cleanse and consecrate new tools and objects you wish to use during rituals, ceremonies or an up coming festival or something you just obtained. Some people call the new moon the dark moon and the terms are often interchangeably used.

New moon workings can be done from the day of the new moon to three-and-a-half days after.

First Quarter:

FEB 21  4:42 pm

The first quarter, called the waxing moon is best used for attraction and constructive magic, love spells, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck, and healing energy.

Between the new and full moon from seven to fourteen days is a period of the waxing moon.

Please Note:

*Moon Phases (above) are at Pacific Standard Time

*Moon in Signs (below)  are at Eastern Time

February Full Moon  Names and Traditions *

Ice Moon, Storm Moon, Horning Moon, Hunger Moon, Wild Moon, Red and Cleansing Moon, Quickening Moon, Somonath (Sun Month), Big Winter Moon

Other events in February:

Feb 1-3:  The Lesser Eleusian Mysteries of ancient Greece which is a celebration of the ‘Returning Daughter’ for Persephone.

Feb 7: Day of Selene/other Moon Goddesses

Feb 9: The Chingay Procession, the Singapore New Year, which is a celebration of Kuan Yin promising the coming Spring.

Feb 12: Festival of Diana/artemis, Divine Huntress.

Feb 13-18: The Parentalia and Feralia, a purification festival honoring the goddesses Mania and Vesta; devoted to the ancestors, peace, and love.

Feb 14-15: The Lupercalia, when women petitioned Juno-Lupa for children. Also honored the God Faunus, an aspect of Pan.

Feb 14-21: Aphrodite’s Festival of Love

Aphrodite (“Risen From Sea-foam”) is the Greek goddess of love, sexual passion, and beauty, one of the twelve Olympian gods. In the Iliad, She is the daughter of Zeus and the Titoness Dione, though the usual legend is that She was born from the blood and foam on the surface of the Sea after Ouranos was castrated by Kronos. She represents the creative powers of nature and the sea. Aphrodite is described as being the most beautiful of the Greek Goddesses, and rules over grace and beauty. In all, her realms include sex, desire, flirting, consummation of marriage, procreation, prostitution, impotence, merriment, love songs, peace, and the planet Venus. Offerings to Aphrodite include flowers and incense.

“The great and amorous sky curved over the earth, and lay upon her as a pure lover. The rain, the humid flux descending from heaven for both man and animal, for both thick and strong,  germinated teh wheat, swelled the furrows with fecund mud and brought forth the buds in the orchards. And it is I who empowered these moist espousals, I , the great Aphrodite…”- Aeschylus, The Danaides

Feb 17: Fornacalia of Feast of Ovens

Feb 20: The Day of Tacita (the silent goddess) who averts harmful gossip.

Feb 21: Lantern Festival in China and Taiwan and another celebration of Kuan Yin/Quan Yin/Kwan Yin

Kwan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, who’s name means “She Who Hears the Prayers of the World” was originally the mother goddess of China, who proved so popular She was adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a bodhisattva,  is a person who has attained enlightenment but chooses to forgo Nirvana and remain in the world to help others attain enlightenment.Kwan Yin is known as a great healer who can cure all ills and calling her name in time of crisis is believed to grant deliverance. Kuan Yin’s role as Buddhist Madonna has been compared to that of Mary the mother of Jesus in the West. It is in truth the same soul. Devotees also invoke the bodhisattva’s power and merciful intercession with the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM– “Hail to the jewel in the lotus!” or, as it has also been interpreted, “Hail to Avalokitesvara, who is the jewel in the heart of the lotus of the devotee’s heart!” Throughout Tibet and Ladakh, Buddhists have inscribed OM MANI PADME HUM on flat prayer stones called “mani-stones” as votive offerings in praise of Avalokitesvara. Thousands of these stones have been used to build mani-walls that line the roads entering villages and monasteries.

Feb 22: The Carista, a day of family peace and accord.

Feb 23: The Terminalia in honor of Terminus, god of land boundaries.

Terminus in Roman mythology, the god of boundaries, the protector of the limits both of private property and of the public territory of Rome. He was represented by a stone or post, set up in the ground. The festival called Terminalia, took place at this time in which the owners of adjacent lands assembled at the common boundary stone, and crowned their own side of the stone with garlands; an altar was set up and offerings of cakes, corn, honey and wine were made and a lamb or a sucking pig was sacrificed. The proceedings closed with songs to the god and a general merrymaking, in which all the members of the families and the servants took part.

“O, swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb…” -Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, 2:2:115

Moon In Signs

Moon phases are crucial to magickal workings but there is another valuable tool in the Moon’s magickal arsenal, Moon in zodiac signs. We know the Moon sets the emotional mood for the day, and using those subtle changes to your advantage can change a result from ‘fuzzy or vague’ to ‘perfect!’ To understand how this works, you need to understand how the Moon travels. Simply, it is the astrological sign the Moon travels through and it is something that should be considered when planning magickal workings, or  even mundane tasts. As the Moon’s phases gives off different energies, so too do the astrological signs she visits.  To figure out how the Moon in any particular sign will effect you, consider the nature of the sign the Moon is visiting.  For example,  if the Moon is in Virgo, it would be a great time to tend to details, tidying up, being efficient, make plans, but watch out for anxiety about what could go wrong, overthinking an issue etc.,

Elemental-Moon Magic

* EARTH *
spells should be preformed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.

* AIR *
spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.

* FIRE *
spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius.

* WATER *
spells should be performed when the moon is in one of the astrological signs governed by that element: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.

February

Last Aspect                                                           Moon Enters New Sign

Date       Time                                                        Date                                           Sign                                         Time

1                11:17 pm                                                 2                                                  Libra                                       8:42 am

4                 4:55 pm                                                   4                                                 Scorpio                                   11:56 am

6                 11:11 am                                                6                                                 Sagittarius                                7:04 pm

8                 11:58 pm                                                 9                                                 Capricorn                                  5:43 am

11               7:39 am                                                 11                                                 Aquarius                                    6:24pm

13               11:33pm                                                 14                                               Pisces                                           7:23 am

16              9:32 am                                                   16                                               Aries                                             7:30 pm

18              10:52 pm                                                 19                                                Taurus                                         5:55am

21              7:15 am                                                    21                                                Gemini                                           1:47 pm

23               12:29 pm                                                  23                                               Cancer                                       6:29 pm

25               12:48 pm                                                25                                                Leo                                               8:08 pm

27                 3:15 pm                                                 27                                                Virgo                                            7:52 pm

Moon Void-of-Course

In about 28 days the Moon circles the Earth and she moves through each zodiac sign in two and a half days as you can see from the chart above. Because she moves one degree in two-two and a half hours her influence is short lived.  Though from the point where she reaches her highest degree within a sign to the point where she is reaching the next sign, it is called ‘void-of-course.’ It’s best to think of this short time period, as ‘dead time’ because plans usually don’t work properly. These are the times when we uncharacteristically exercize poor judgement because actions initiated during this time period aren’t given the full picture. But, all is not lost, this is a good time for just reflecting, not acting. If you are a person that likes to periodically ‘put things off’ well this is a great time for that. You can think about what to do when the Moon is right for it!

February V/C times

Date       Time

1                8:17 pm

4               1:27 am

6                8:11 am

8                8:58 pm

11              4:39 am

13              8:33 pm

16              6:32 am

18              7:52 pm

21              4:15 am

23              9:29 am

25             9:48 am

27              12:15 pm

*v/c  times are set to Pacific Time Zone.

)O( Moon Magic Tip:

Love To You Spell

Do this spell on a friday (ruled by Venus) night during a waxing or full moon
Things you will need:

1 sheet of lined paper

1 Red pen or marker/ dove’s blood and quill

1 letter envelope

your favorite perfume/oil of lavendar or rose

your favorite shade of red lipstick (optional)

a few Pink or Red flower petals

Write out the qualities you want in a lover on the sheet of paper using the pen/quill.

Next spritz the paper with your perfume or put a few drops of essential oil.

Fold the paper and place it in the envelope.

Now take the flower petals, hold them in your right or power hand. Envision yourself happy and in love, squeezing the petals tight in your hand. Keep envisioning this scene, with your lover having all the qualities you specified.

Drop the petals into the envelope. Seal the envelope closed and seal the whole spell with a kiss. Apply the red lipstick and kiss the envelope!! (optional)

Place in a safe place. Do not open it again, if you do this will break the spell.

*You should never use specific people in this spell as that is a binding/negative spell.

References:

http://www.griffithobs.org/skyfiles/skymoonphases2010.html

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php

http://lunaf.com/english/moon-phases/lunar-calendar-2010/01/16/

http://astrology.about.com/od/themoon/a/FollowingMoon.htm

http://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/kwanyin.html

http://www.lotussculpture.com/kwan-yin-statues-kuan-yin-goddess-compassion.htm

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Terminus

http://www.everythingunderthemoon.net/

The Moon Through the Zodiac Following the Lunar Waves By Molly Hall, About.com Guide

Everyday Moon Magic by Dorothy Morrison

Moon Magick by D.J. Conway

The Book of the Moon by Tom Folley

2010 Llewellyn’s Moon Sign Book

Llewellyn’s 2010 Daily Planetary Guide

A Maypole is erected and bright ribbons are hung on it. The Maypole, a phallic symbol, represents the masculine. The soft colored ribbons are the feminine. The union of the two symbolizes the union of the God and Goddess. This is the time to fertilize your dreams with action. It is legend that children conceived at Beltane were gifted by the Gods. These children became known as Merry-Be-Gots.

The Return of the Sun

Beltaine is an anglicization of the Irish “Bealtaine” or the Scottish “Bealtuinn.” While “tene” clearly means “fire,” nobody really knows whether Bel refers to Belenus, a pastoral god of the Gauls, or is from “bel,” simply meaning “brilliant.” It might even derive from “bil tene” or “lucky fire” because to jump between two Beltane fires was sure to bring good fortune, health to your livestock, and prosperity.

When the Druids and their successors raised the Beltaine fires on hilltops throughout the British Isles on May Eve, they were performing a real act of magic, for the fires were lit in order to bring the sun’s light down to earth. In Scotland, every fire in the household was extinguished, and the great fires were lit from the need-fire which was kindled by 3 times 3 men using wood from the nine sacred trees. When the wood burst into flames, it proclaimed the triumph of the light over the dark half of the year.

Then the whole hillside came alive as people thrust brands into the newly roaring flames and whirled them about their heads in imitation of the circling of the sun. If any man there was planning a long journey or dangerous undertaking, he leaped backwards and forwards three times through the fire for luck. As the fire sunk low, the girls jumped across it to procure good husbands; pregnant women stepped through it to ensure an easy birth, and children were also carried across the smoldering ashes. When the fire died down, the embers were thrown among the sprouting crops to protect them, while each household carried some back to kindle a new fire in their hearth. When the sun rose that dawn, those who had stayed up to watch it might see it whirl three times upon the horizon before leaping up in all its summer glory.

Beltaine was a time of fertility and unbridled merrymaking, when young and old would spend the night making love in the Greenwood. In the morning, they would return to the village bearing huge budding boughs of hawthorn (the may-tree) and other spring flowers with which to bedeck themselves, their families, and their houses. They would process back home, stopping at each house to leave flowers, and enjoy the best of food and drink that the home had to offer. In every village, the maypole—usually a birch or ash pole—was raised, and dancing and feasting began. Festivities were led by the May Queen and her consort, the King who was sometimes Jack-in-the-Green, or the Green Man, the old god of the wildwood. They were borne in state through the village in a cart covered with flowers and enthroned in a leafy arbor as the divine couple whose unity symbolized the sacred marriage of earth and sun.

Other Names:

celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced "sow" (rhymes with now) "en" (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) – "mh" in the middle is a "w" sound – Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) – Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) – Apr 30-May 1 – The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Halloween, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead (Mexican), Witches New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All Souls, Nos Galen-gae-of Night of the Winter Calends (Welsh), La Houney or Hollantide Day, Sauin or Souney ( Manx), oidhche na h-aimiléise-the night of mischief or confusion(Ireland), Oidhche Shamna (Scotland)

Rituals:

End of summer, honoring of the dead,scrying, divination, last harvest, meat harvest

Incense:

Copal, sandalwood, mastic resin, benzoin, sweetgrass, wormwood, mugwort, sage, myrrh or patchouli

Tools:

Besom, cauldron, tarot, obsidian ball, pendulum, runes, oghams, Ouija boards, black cauldron or bowl filled with black ink or water, or magick mirror

Stones/Gems:

Black obsidian, jasper, carnelian, onyx, smoky quartz, jet, bloodstone

Colors:

Black, orange, red

Symbols & Decorations:

Apples, autumn flowers, acorns, bat, black cat, bones, corn stalks, colored leaves, crows, death/dying, divination and the tools associated with it, ghosts, gourds, Indian corn, jack-o-lantern, nuts , oak leaves, pomegranates, pumpkins, scarecrows, scythes, waning moon

Foods:

Apples, apple dishes, cider, meat (traditionally this is the meat harvest) especially pork, mulled cider with spices, nuts-representing resurrection and rebirth, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, squash.

Goddesses:

The Crone, Hecate(Greek), Cerridwen(Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod(Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Al-Ilat(persian), Bast (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Hel(Norse), Kali(Hindu), all Death & Otherworld Goddesses

Gods:

Horned Hunter(European), Cernnunos(Greco-Celtic), Osiris(Egyptian), Hades (Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis(Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), acrificial/Dying/Aging

Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods

Herbs and Flowers:

Almond, apple leaf , autumn joy sedum, bay leaf, calendula, Cinnamon, Cloves cosmos, garlic, ginger , hazelnut, hemlock cones, mandrake root, marigold, mums, mugwort (to aid in divination), mullein seeds , nettle, passionflower, pine needles, pumpkin seeds, rosemary (for remembrance of our ancestors), rue, sage, sunflower petals and seeds, tarragon, wild ginseng, wormwood

Animals:

Stag, cat, bat, owl, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, robin

Mythical Beings:

Pooka, goblin,medusa, beansidhe, harpies

Essence:

Magick, plenty; knowledge, the night, death & rebirth, success, protection; rest, new beginning; ancestors; lifting of the veil, mundane laws in abeyance, return, change

Dynamics/Meaning:

Death & transformation, Wiccan new year,wisdom of the Crone, end of summer, honoring, thinning of the veil between worlds, death of the year, time outside of time, night of the Wild Hunt, begin new projects, end old projects

Work:

Sex magick, release of bad habits, banishing, fairy magick, divination of any kind, candle magick, astral projection, past life work, dark moon mysteries, mirror spells (reflection), casting protection , inner work, propitiation, clearing obstacles, uncrossing, inspiration, workings of transition or culmination, manifesting transformation,creative visualization, contacting those who have departed this plane

Purpose:

Honoring the dead, especially departed ancestors, knowing we will not be forgotten; clear knowledge of our path; guidance, protection, celebrating reincarnation

Rituals/Magicks:

Foreseeing future, honoring/consulting ancestors, releasing the old, power, understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination, dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall

Customs:

Ancestor altar, costumes, divination, carving jack-o-lanterns, spirit plate, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts, fairs, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apple games, tricks, washing clothes

Element:

Water

Gender:

Male

Threshold:

Midnight

April, the fourth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the second month of Spring’s rule, derives its name from Aprillis, the Latin name for the ancient Roman love goddess Aphrodite. Other reference sources give aperite, the Latin word meaning “to open,” as the origination of the month’s name.
The traditional birthstone amulet of April is the diamond, and the daisy and the sweet pea are the month’s traditional flowers.

April is shared by the astrological signs of Aries the Ram and Taurus the Bull, and is sacred to the following Pagan deities:
Aphrodite, emis, Astarte, Erzulie, Terra, Venus, and Ying-Hua.

The name April comes from the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, who is identified with the Roman Goddess Venus. Though Easter is celebrated during this month, the word Easter comes from the Pagan Goddess Eostre (something else the Christians got from us). Eostre is the Goddess of Spring, fertilitly, and new life.

April

Correspondences

• February Correspondences
• Imbolc Correspondences

Moon Name: The Growing Moon

Deities: Kali, Hathor, Anahita, Ceres, Ishtar, Venus, Bast

Nature Spirits: plant faeries

Colors: Red and gold

Herbs: basil, chives, dragons blood, geranium, thistle

Flowers: daisy and sweetpea

Tree’s: pine, bay and hazel

Scents: pine, bay, bergamot and my personal favorite patchouli

Stones: ruby, garnet, sard

Animals: Bear and Wolf

Birds: hawk and magpie

Powers: energy in creating and producing, balance is
returned to the nerves change, self confidence,
self-relience, take advantage of opportunities,
Time to work on emotional turmoil and get
your temper into prospective.

Date: May 1

Animals: Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx, leopard

Deities: Flower Goddesses, Divine Couples, Deities of the Hunt, Aphrodite, emis, Bast, Diana, Faunus, Flora, Maia, Pan, the Horned God, Venus, and all Gods and Goddesses who preside over fertility.

Tools: broom, May Pole, cauldron

Stones/Gems: emerald, malachite, amber, orange carnelian, sapphire, rose quartz

Colors: green, soft pink, blue, yellow, red, brown

Herbs and Flowers: almond tree/shrub, ash, broom, cinquefoil, clover, Dittany of Crete, elder, foxglove, frankincense, honeysuckle, rowan, sorrel, hawthorn, ivy, lily of the valley, marigold, meadowsweet, mint, mugwort, thyme, woodruff may be burned; angelica, bluebells, daisy, hawthorn, ivy, lilac, primrose, and rose may be decorations, st. john’s wort, yarrow, basically all flowers.

Incense: frankincense, lilac, rose.

Symbols and Decorations: maypole, strings of beads or flowers, ribbons, spring flowers, fires, fertility, growing things, ploughs, cauldrons of flowers, butterchurn, baskets, eggs

Food: dairy, bread, cereals, oatmeal cakes, cherries, strawberries, wine, green salads.

Activities and Rituals: fertilize, nurture and boost existing goals, games, activities of pleasure, leaping bonfires, making garlands, May Pole dance, planting seeds, walking one’s property, feasting

Wiccan mythology: sexual union and/or marriage of the Goddess and God

It’s association with fire also makes Beltaine a holiday of purification.

Wiccan weddings are frequently held on or around Beltaine.