Magical Monday: Celtic Traditions

Today’s A to Z Blogging Challenge is all about the letter “C.” For this week’s Magical Monday, I’m exploring Celtic traditions of neo-paganism. 

Artwork credit: Katherine Sunderland

There are many related belief systems (listed below) of the Celtic tradition. All maintain these basic points:

No division between the sacred and the secular.

Spiritual equality of women and men.

Preference for rural life.

Honor nature and God's creatures.

From there, you can find great variety in terms of focus on past or present, beliefs about life in the universe, and use of rituals. 

Whether any branches of Celtic tradition are “magical” is subject to opinion. I like a broad definition of magic--any extraordinary or mystical influence. What is mystical to some may not be to others. 

The Pan Celtic movement is one of the strongest in neo-paganism. Music emphasizing pipes, drums, and harps during rituals helps renew Celtic traditions. Neo-Celts traditionally decorate or “dress” sacred wells, believe in fairies, and celebrate solstice days with great fire festivals. The winter solstice is often celebrated with dancers wearing horned costumes, in reference to the Celtic Horned God Kernunnos, also known as Lord of the Animals or the Great Shaman. 

The Celtic year begins with the harvest feast of Samhain, on the last eve of October. Another feast takes place on May Eve, called Beltane. Then, all fires are extinguished and relit from Bel’s Fire, sacred to the solar-fire god Bel.

This exploration was especially interesting to me, having an Irish heritage.  

Do you have any Celtic blood? Still honor any Celtic traditions?

*************************

Branches of Celtic Traditionalism:
Celtic Reconstructionalism-- seeks to recreate, to the best extent possible in the modern world, the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Western Europe and the British Isles. Modern Celtic paganism embodies a strong reverence for nature.

Druidry-- based on the practices, rituals, and magick of the early Celtic priestly class known as the Druids. Many expressions of the tradition still exist, and their differences have often been cause for dissension in the pagan community.

Faery Faith--maintains the belief that everything in this and other worlds is alive, each thing possesses its own soul or spirit. This belief is called animism and was prevalent in the Western world before the advent of Christianity, which holds that only man has souls or spirits and everything else in is solely here for the use of mankind.

Celtic Shamanism-- a shamanic path based on the Faery Faith of the Celtic peoples of Western Europe and especially of Britain, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany.

Witta-- combines old Irish traditions with influences of the Norse. Witta recognizes that at each stage in the development of Irish paganism, each generation has been able to add something of value.

Celtic Witan Church--A legally incorporated church which studies and practices the goddess-oriented nature-based religion of the ancient Celtic peoples. This is a fertility religion concerned with all aspects of prosperity, growth, abundance, creativity, and healing. 

Text References: http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Celtic/celtictraditions.html

http://www.celtic-anabaptist-ministries.com/celtic-tradition.html

Coming Saturday—the March Supermoon!

This Saturday, March 19, the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past eighteen years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away. 

Could this cause real damage? Noted astrologer, Richard Nolle, who runs the website astropro.com, has calls the upcoming full moon a “lunar perigee” (a moon taking its closest approach during orbit) an "extreme supermoon." He claims chaos will ensue: huge storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters. 

How much do you believe in the mysticism of astrology? In light of the horrific and desperate recent events occurring in Japan, I doubt any of us want to believe his prediction.

There are normal measurable effects the moon has on the Earth. The moon is close enough to Earth to produce ocean tides. Also, the moon’s gravity brings about small oscillating movements of the continents, called land tide or solid Earth tides. These are greatest during full and new moons, when sun and moon are aligned either on the same or opposite sides of the Earth.

According to John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, "Both the moon and sun do stress the Earth a tiny bit, and when we look hard we can see a very small increase in tectonic activity when they're aligned.” During full and new moons, "you see a less-than-one-percent increase in earthquake activity, and a slightly higher response in volcanoes.”

According to William Wilcock, seismologist also at the University of Washington, earthquake activity in subduction zones, like the Pacific Northwest, is ten percent higher at low tides than at the times of high tides. Water pressure at high tide clamps the fault together, while when low, with less water pressure, it’s easier for a fault to slip.

And will the Supermoon cause greater effects? Those quoted above say the gravitational pull of the lunar pedigree moon does not increase enough to significantly change height of tides and thus the likelihood of natural disasters is nil.

Folklore describes the March full moon as a time of change in nature. It is called the Worm Moon, being at the time of snow thaw when worms begin to appear and become a source of food for returning robins. Northern American Indian tribes knew this moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter. It’s also named the Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, when the sap flows. 

I hope changes of spring are the only ones this March full moon heralds. Watch for its rise this Saturday night.

References: Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com.

Art reference: Crossie

Magical Monday: Howl at the Wolf Moon

Silver

Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver shoon;

This way, and that, she peers, and sees

Silver fruit upon silver trees;

One by one the casements catch

Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;

Couched in his kennel, like a log,

With paws of silver sleeps the dog;

From their shadowy coat the white breasts peep

Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;

A harvest mouse goes scampering by,

With silver claws, and silver eye;

And moveless fish in the water gleam,

By silver reeds in a silver stream.

~Walter de la Mare

Today’s Magical Monday feature is a discussion about this Friday’s January full moon, the Wolf Moon.

Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages.

While we think of this January as the first moon of the new year, in the natural world, however, it is the middle of the winter season, a time of death and desolation. For this reason, legends about the Wolf Moon are tales of both beginnings and endings.

I’ll recount a story from the Pawnee Indians of North America. Their name comes from the word pa’ni, meaning wolf, or tribe of the wolf. Their beliefs, legends, and ways of life honor the Wolf Spirit.

Tirawa, the Great Spirit, placed Wolf Spirit in the sky to watch out for the Moon /Evening Star. Tirawa also placed Wolf’s animal brothers - Black Bear, Mountain Lion, and Wild-Cat - next to him in attendance of the

Moon.

Great was the power of Wolf Spirit and his brothers in their place in the sky. They came to be known as Black Star, Yellow Star, White Star and Red Star. These Star beasts sent animals like themselves to live upon the earth. These same animal spirits were responsible for many of the Earth’s creations. They sent clouds, thunder, lightening, and the wind. They sent the cottonwood, elm, willow, and box elder. They created the four kinds of corn - black, yellow, white, and red. And it was these great and powerful spirits that guarded Evening Star each night.

As great as these Star Warriors were, the power of the Morning Star, the Sun, was greater. In time, the Sun vanquished Wolf Spirit and his three brothers. In honor of their greatness, Morning Star set Wolf Spirit and the other Star Beasts to hold up the four quarters of the universe.

Wolf Spirit, once guardian of the Moon, now stands as a devoted servant of the Sun. Yet his likeness upon the Earth is still heard howling when Evening Star rises in the sky. Could it be that the creation of Wolf Spirit yet remembers the ancient ties to the Moon? The lone wolf who sings his songs to the Moon is following the ways of his ancestors, who first helped the Moon ascend to her nightly station.

Other names for the January full moon include: Ice Moon; Old Moon; Moon after Yule; Frost Moon; Birch Moon; Moon of Beginning.

Correspondences:

Colors to improve personal healing: black (jet stone), white and blue-violet (the color of crocus flowers)

Plants: herbs and produce of the woodland are closely connected, and with nuts and cones, musk, marjoram and mimosa lending sweetness

The Wolf Moon will rise on Friday 19th at 21:21 GMT. 

Although we don’t have wolves in my neighborhood, I’ll be listening for coyotes and any wild ancestral spirits from pet doggies that may bring out a howl or two.

Any wolves or other howlers in your neighborhood?

References:

Pawnee legend: http://www.angelfire.com/or/crescentwind/jan.html

Art: (top to bottom) skeelar; emerald-depths; lethalnightmarez

Magical Monday: lunar eclipse home photos

This week’s Magical Monday revisits the lunar eclipse from the night of December 21st. 

During our celebration my husband, Steve, took photos I’d like to share. It was an unusually cold night here south of Tampa, about 40 degrees, but the skies were perfectly clear, allowing some good opportunities for photos. However, even with a tripod, the long exposure made focusing and avoiding slight camera shake difficult.



The early hours of the eclipse with the Earth’s shadow just beginning to pass over the moon:

 

Total eclipse gave a pink-orange glow. The color was caused by the sun’s rays passing the sides of the Earth, through our planet’s atmosphere and refracting in those gases, to bend as orange wavelengths onto the moon’s surface. Those reflected to us, hence the observation of the eerie orange moon. Science aside…quite a magical site!

Magical Monday: Total lunar eclipse coincides with December’s cold solstice full moon for first time in 372 years

"Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star."  
~W. Clement Stone

Stone’s quote may be correct for this month’s full moon, which you could actually manage to miss and only see stars.

Lots of magic to talk about for this week’s Magical Monday feature!

Tonight, in the early hours before Tuesday’s dawn EDT, we will have a total lunar eclipse. The glow of the full moon will be draped in shadow of the Earth on the very date of the winter solstice. Three amazing events together!

The passage of the moon through that shadow will be equally visible from all places within the hemisphere where the moon is above the horizon. It will be visible across all of North and South America, as well as the northern and western portions of Europe, a small part of northeast Asia, including Korea, much of Japan, as well as the North Island of New Zealand and Hawaii —about 1.5 billion people will be able to view this lunar phenomenon.  This will be the first total eclipse in 34 months.  

The eclipse will become noticeable when the moon begins to enter the Earth's dark inner shadow, the umbra.  A small scallop of darkness will appear on the moon's left edge at 1:33 a.m. EST (Dec. 21) or 10:33 p.m. PST (on Dec. 20). The moon is expected to take 3 hours and 28 minutes to pass completely through the umbra. It will pass entirely out of the Earth's umbra at 5:01 a.m. EST/2:01 a.m. PST.

During total eclipse, although the moon will be entirely shrouded in the Earth’s shadow, it likely will not disappear from sight.  Instead, it should turn a coppery, reddish color, from the Earth’s atmosphere refracting sun’s rays into the area of the shadow. 

Other names for the December full moon include: the Full Cold Moon; the Full Long Nights Moon; Oak Moon; Moon of Long Nights; Long Night's Moon; Wintermonat (Winter Month); Heilagmonoth (Holy Month); Big Winter Moon; Moon of Popping Trees.  The term Long Night Moon is appropriate because the midwinter night is indeed lengthy, with the moon above the horizon for a long time. 

Correspondences:

Nature Spirits: snow faeries, storm faeries, winter tree faeries
Herbs: holly, English ivy, fir, mistletoe
Colors: black red, white and black
Flowers: holly, poinsettia, Christmas cactus
Scents: violet, patchouli, rose geranium, frankincense, myrrh, lilac
Stones: serpentine, jacinth, peridot
Trees: pine, fir, holly
Animals: mouse, deer, horse, bear
Birds: rood, robin, snowy owl
Deities: Hathor, Hecate, Neith, Athene, Minerva, Ixchel, Osiris, Norns, Fates
Power Flow: to endure, die, re-born; Earth tides turning. Darkness. Personal alchemy. Spiritual paths. Reach out to friends and family, the lonely and needy.

Be sure to stay up late, or get up early. For all this lunar magic to coincide again in N. America you’ll have to wait until April 14, 2014. So, don’t miss it! 

References: Yahoo News; Months of the Moon

Art references: Dark Moon17 (top); Shadow T Matsumoto (bottom)

Six Sentence Sunday - December 12th

 This is the last snippet I'll post from my novelette, Celestial Trigon, a free read on my website. Warning: adult content.

 In these lines, Martin, the grand wizard, and his love, Heike, are celebrating the rare occasion of a twin full moon rise, alone and away from the dangers of the party.

Check it out here to enjoy more. http://www.marshaamoore.com

****

       He moved his hands to unclasp his cloak covering her bare body. He caressed the fine curves of her hips and cupped her breasts. The garment eased off of her shoulders and fell free onto the ground. His lady stood naked before him, clothed only in the soft light.
       He held his breath at the sight, having never seen her appear more beautiful. The moonglow kissed the tip of her nose, the delicate edge of her collar bones, the swell of her breasts, the ample roundness of her ass. But, her love for him within her eyes glowed brightest.

****

Be sure to find other awesome entries for this Sunday at: http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

Magical Monday - November's Moon: Blue or Not?

 “The wailing owl Screams solitary to the mournful moon.”   ~ David Mallet

Today’s Magical Monday features a discussion about last night’s full moon. It was a beauty here in Tampa. I hope you got a chance between the Indy-Pats and Giants-Philly games to take a peek.

I titled this post “Blue Moon” which might make you ask, “Isn’t a blue moon the second full moon that occurs in a calendar month? This was the only November moon.”

I assure no magic turned the moon a shade of blue. Instead, by old rules, this moon was indeed a blue moon. 

The formula for calculating the standard definition of a blue moon was derived from using a calendar with fixed seasons of equal length as opposed to seasons that began based on the position of the sun (from winter solstice to winter solstice). In any season with four full moons, it was the third that was labeled the “blue moon.”

According to the Maine Farmer's Almanac in 1937, a blue moon is the third full moon in a seasonal quarter that contained four full moons. Since it was the third full moon in a quarter that was 'blue', this blue moon never fell as the second blue moon in a month, but always on the 21, 22 or 23. 

Under the old Almanac rule, last night’s would technically be a blue moon. In the autumn season of 2010, there are four full moons:

• Sept. 23
• Oct. 22
• Nov. 21
• Dec. 21

But isn’t December 21^st the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere? I always thought so.

In 2010, the solstice comes at 6:38 p.m. EST (2338 UT). But the moon turns full at 3:13 a.m. EST (0813 UT). That's 15 hours and 25 minutes before the time of the solstice. Then, the December full moon technically belongs to autumn, the fourth full moon of the season. So under the original Maine Almanac rule, the third full moon of the 2010 fall season on Nov. 21 would be a blue moon.   

Other interesting November lunar info:

This month’s moon is called the Beaver Moon, since this traditionally was the time to stock up on furs for winter – not politically correct now during any moonrise. So, today we can think of the name associated with the time when beavers are preparing themselves for winter.

If you’d prefer another name, it’s also called the: Frosty Moon; Trading Moon; Sassafras Moon; Snow Moon; Dark Moon; Fog Moon; Mourning Moon; Mad Moon; Moon of Storms; Moon When Deer Shed Antlers; Blotmonath (Sacrifice Month); Herbistmonoth (Harvest Month).

Correspondences:

Nature Spirits: subterranean faeries
Herbs: grains of paradise, verbena, betony, borage, cinquefoil, blessed thistle
Colors: gray, sea-green
Flowers: blooming cacti, chrysanthemum
Scents: cedar, cherry blossoms, hyacinth, narcissus, peppermint, lemon
Stones: topaz, hyacinth, lapis lazuli
Trees: alder, cypress
Animals: unicorn, scorpion, crocodile, jackal
Birds: owl, goose, sparrow
Deities: Kali, Black Isis, Nicnevin, Hecate, Bast Osiris, Sarasvati, Lakshme, Skadi, Mawu
Power Flow: take root, prepare. Transformation. Strengthen communication with the god or goddess who seems closest to you. 

 

So, blue or not? It’s up to you. It was a lovely moon and I hope you enjoyed it.

Reference: The Months of the Moon;Yahoo News 

Art References: Canankk; Sparklingsary

Guest Krista D. Ball tells about her new book, Harvest Moon

Today I'm very pleased to have Krista D. Ball sharing information with us about her terrific release, Harvest Moon.

A short intro from Krista’s character

As I sat on the bank of the swallow river, the drums pounding in the distance, I asked myself why the ancestors abandoned me. I had always behaved the way my elders taught me. I worked hard, shared with those around me, and never took more from the Earth than what I needed. I listened to my chief and my elders and respected the wisdom that the Spirits offered them. Why, then, would I be called “Cursed One”, never to be a person again?

The crowd in the distance sang and whooped in excitement, rhythmic drums echoing back to my isolated patch of ground. My job during the Gathering consisted of fetching water from the cold stream. Fearful of my presence polluting the festivities and angering the ancestors, several small children were designated to collect the bladders of water from me and run them back to the celebrating people. I could not even bring the water itself.

I was no longer Dancing Cat, messenger of my people. I was Cursed One. I would not experience the opening of the Sacred Bundle and receive guidance.

I looked out and over the endless field of grass opposite of the river and sighed. Someday, I will find a way to deliver myself. Even if I have to call upon death to rescue me.

Harvest Moon, 2010

Paranormal Fantasy

ISBN: 978-0-9865875-0-4         

Pages: 35

Word count: 10,000

Price: $2.50

Available in PDF, epub, prc

Buy Link

EXCERPT:

Harvest Moon

Cross-legged, Dancing Cat sat pounding the sun-dried Saskatoon berries between two hand-sized rocks. The stone, her hands, and her buckskin dress all bore the tell-tale signs of berry duty. Streaks of red dye, impossible to clean, striped her clothing and tanned skin. She tried pushing her hair off her cheeks, only to have the sticky residue coating her fingers glue the dark strands in place. The black flies swarmed and buzzed, ready to feast.

She worked in silence as part of the greater circle of twenty women, who chatted as they worked. Dancing Cat had no reason to join in. They only spoke to her to criticize or belittle, never for companionship. The band no longer even called her by name.

Her attention faded away from her work. She stared past the women to catch a glimpse of Eagle Eyes, her brother, mounting his horse. He was only six years older than her and already leading hunting parties, while she sat, docile and obedient, making powdered berries. His gaze caught hers, full of warning. She looked away with the heaviness of her situation pressing against her chest. Dancing Cat pounded her berries harder, trying to crush her own aching loneliness.

“I wish I could ride again,” she mumbled.

Her mother, Crow, glared at her. “I have no patience for you today. We have berries to crush. Shall I remind you why we need them?”

“No,” Dancing Cat said, sullen. They couldn’t start the pemmican cakes without the berries. Without them, they would starve when winter fell. She’d heard the lecture many times before and did not want to hear it again.

“Good. Put aside your childishness and work in silence, Cursed One.”

Dancing Cat swallowed down the slight. She remained silent against the grunts and nods of the other women. She dropped her gaze, making snide, internal comments about how her mother’s black hair no longer resembled a crow’s blue-black feathers. It made her feel better, petty though it was.

Some days, she saw herself as Cursed One instead of her name. But today was not one of those days. Today, she was still the girl who wriggled out of the womb twenty years before and was joyously named Dancing Cat. Today, she hated her duty and silence. But she would do both and would not complain. One day, she would escape into death and be free.

Using a sharp stone, she scraped the mound of berry powder off the buckskin in front of her into the main pile. She dumped several handfuls of the tiny Saskatoon berries back on her ragged buckskin to resume pounding. But not before licking her fingers clean of the tart, feathery residue. No one noticed.

“Creator wills it, the men will bring home a buffalo from the hunt,” Crow said to the other women, who nodded in agreement.

Dancing Cat let her mind wander as the women chatted about the tribe’s need for a buffalo. The herd would move southeast in another moon cycle and so the entire tribe would move with them before the final move into their winter camp. Faded memories of riding ahead of the hunt flashed across her mind; images so foreign that she wondered if they were true anymore.

A chill crept up her spine. The late summer wind had turned cold. She flicked her gaze back to the hunting party. The rest of the men mounted their horses and galloped off to the nearby buffalo herd. She sighed, remembering the freedom of riding. She had been their tribe’s first female messenger. She missed it.

“Cursed One! Pay attention. You are chipping your rock. If I find stone in my cakes this winter, I will take yours and let you go without.” Her grandmother glared at her, her thin lips pursed. “Stop daydreaming.”

Dancing Cat stared at her grandmother, trying to control her tone. “Sorry, Nohkom. I was just…”

“Daydreaming,” Hawk Sight snapped. “We expect you to do your share of work. If you do not, you will be the first to starve this winter.”

Dancing Cat hung her head, fingers trembling from the nauseating mix of anger and fear. She bit back the disrespectful words that boiled inside her. Hawk Sight was not just her maternal grandmother, but also the band healer and an elder. No one would dare speak back to her, let alone the band exile. 

She looked up at the several generations of women around her. The nodding heads and smug looks told her that the threat of starvation was real. She pushed her grandmother’s words out of her mind by grinding the berries perfectly between the two flat rocks.

“Remember Stoney?”

Dancing Cat slumped. Hawk Sight never could let things go.

“She thought she could laze around while we women worked. But when we ran out of food that winter, she was the one left to starve. We don’t need lazy women.”

“Yes, Nohkom.”

And on it went for the afternoon, story after miserable story about women who starved to death. It would have been bad enough for just her grandmother to have told the stories. Instead, the others joined in, telling of captured Red Valley, Cree or Inuit wives who had been left to starve when food stores ran low. All at her grandmother’s say. Hawk Sight might have been a great healer, but she was also cold and merciless in Dancing Cat’s opinion.

They told the stories to make her work harder, but it had the opposite effect. Her work slowed. She could not stand up for herself against an entire band, but she could refuse to obey the people who threatened to kill her. If they wanted her to die, then they could starve, too.

The Hunter’s Moon – “Let us be Diana's foresters, gentlemen of the shade, minions of the moon.” ~William Shakespeare, Henry IV

This Saturday evening marks the October Hunter’s Moon. Continuing my series, this full moon is unique because …

It was named by hunters in Northern Europe, shooting migratory birds. And by American Indians tracking prey by the moon’s light, to stockpile for the coming winter. 

Moon rise typically occurs about fifty minutes later each day, as it moves in orbit around Earth. All full moons rise around the time of sunset. The Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special because—as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere -- the time of moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual. The moon rises approximately thirty minutes later, from one night to the next, for several evenings around the dates for those two full moons. Therefore, there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise. In times past, this feature of these two autumn moons helped hunters to track their prey (or, in the case of the Harvest Moon, farmers working in the fields). They could continue tracking their prey (or bringing in their crops) by moonlight even when the sun had gone down. Hence the name Hunter's (or Harvest) Moon.

The reason for these shorter-than-usual rising times between successive moon rises is that the orbit of the moon makes a narrower angle with respect to the horizon in the evening in autumn, leading the Moon to higher positions in the sky each successive day. 

This moon is also called: Blood Moon; Sanguine Moon; Shedding Moon; Winterfelleth (Winter Coming); Windermanoth (Vintage Month); Falling Leaf Moon; Vine Moon; Ten Colds Moon; Moon of the Changing Season.

The name Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon comes from the Roman practices of killing and salting down livestock before coming winter made it impossible to feed them. 

Correspondences

Nature Spirits: frost faeries, plant faeries
Herbs: pennyroyal, thyme, catnip, angelica, burdock
Colors: dark blue-green
Flowers: calendula, marigold, cosmos
Scents: strawberry, apple blossom, cherry
Stones: opal, tourmaline, beryl, turquoise
Trees: yew, cypress, acacia
Animals: stag, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion
Birds: heron, crow, robin
Deities: Ishtar, Astarte, Demeter, Kore, Lakshmi, Horned God, Belili, Hathor
Power Flow: to let go; inner cleansing. Karma and reincarnation. Justice and balance. Inner harmony.

Take time this Saturday to enjoy the early rising Hunter's Moon.

 References: Wikipedia; The Months of the Moon 

Art references:  Billow

And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon ...

 ... and the hills growin' brown and golden under a sinkin' sun. ~Roy Bean

For this week’s Magical Monday, I’m featuring the approaching full moon of September, commonly known as the Harvest Moon. This is the moon all know by its folkname, but most people expect it to occur in October.

This Full Harvest Moon allows farmers to work in their fields late into the night, bringing in crops. It is also called the Full Corn Moon by Native Americans who set this date to mark when corn should be harvested. Other names include: Barley Moon; Hazel Moon; Wine Moon; Singing Moon; Sturgeon Moon; Haligmonath (Holy Month); Witumanoth (Wood Month); Moon When Deer Paw the Earth.

Around the world, the Autumn Equinox is still celebrated by many cultures. The energy flowing from the Autumn Equinox through Winter Solstice to the Spring Equinox is getting deeper, more hidden. Spiritually, the Dark Moon deities, representing the Underworld, death, reincarnation, and deep spiritual mysteries, now hold control.

In the ancient Incan Empire, the Citua celebration was held on the date of the New Moon nearest the equinox. Everyone performed a ritual cleansing, then smeared their faces with a paste of ground maize (corn). After, they feasted and danced for several days. This was a festival in honor of Mama Quilla, the Moon goddess.

The next time the full moon will rise is this Thursday, September 23rd (9:19 GMT).

Correspondences of the September Moon
Nature Spirits: trooping faeries
Herbs: copal, fennel, rye, wheat, valerian, skullcap
Colours: brown, yellow-green, yellow
Flowers: narcissus, lily
Scents: storax, mastic, gardenia, bergamot
Stones: peridot, olivine, chrysolite, citrine
Trees: hazel, larch, bay
Animals: snake, jackal
Birds: ibis, sparrow
Deities: Demeter, Ceres, Isis, Nephthys, Freyja, Ch'ang-O, Thoth
Power Flow: rest after labor; balance of Light and Dark. Organize. Clean and straighten up physical, mental, emotional and spiritual clutter.

On Thursday evening be sure to pause and enjoy the simple pleasures of the beauty of the Harvest Moon.

Art: ahoberer78 and Jayne Barnett
Reference: The Months of the Moon

Beware of the gruesome Hand of Glory burning its spell over you

This week’s Magical Monday post is dark and twisty. I’ve been perusing research books for tasks to give an alchemist character in the series I’m currently writing, The Enchanted Bookstore, the first book subtitled Seeking a Scribe. This bit of magic was so compellingly gory, I wanted to share. Caution: I wouldn’t eat while reading this post.

European magic folklore describes use of the Hand of Glory. The term is derived from the French main de glorie or mandrogore or mandrake plant, which is associated with the gallows. The severed hand of a criminal is preserved for use in spell casting. Apparently, the hand renders people afraid, powerless, or sleepy, so thieves may break into homes.

Preparation

Particularly interesting, at least for the purposes of my alchemist character, is the preparation of said hand. It’s best to use the right hand of a murderer, cut from him/her during a lunar eclipse. Second best in efficacy, is to sever the murderer’s hand on any given night the corpse the corpse still hangs on the gallows.

Once the hand is acquired there is much work to be done. First it is to be wrapped in the corpse’s burial shroud and squeezed dry of blood. Next, it must be preserved before use, stored in an earthenware pickling pot for two weeks in a mixture of saltpeter, salt, and peppers. Then, the hand is wrapped in vervain leaves and dried in the August sun or an oven. Personally, I’d opt for the sun method, since the thought of the fumes in the house seems nauseating, but my alchemist might be in a bigger hurry for that hand than sun-drying would permit.

For a twist on usefulness, the dried hand can then be dipped in wax so the fingers may be burned. Alternatively, candles may be fabricated from the fat of the murderer and the hand’s dried fingers become grotesque candle holders. If you forgot to gather his/her fat, that of another recently executed murderer, or of a pony will do as well. Any of those choices must be combined with sesame and virgin wax to ensure proper burning. Hair from the dead man or pony is used to make wicks.

Usage

To cast the sleeping spell, the hand of glory must be burned. Caution: if the thumb doesn’t light, it’s a sign that someone in the house cannot be bewitched.

Antidote

If you are the one being bewitched, take heed – only milk will extinguish a lit hand of glory. I wonder if soymilk qualifies, which is all I ever have in the house? If prevention is the route you wish, you will need to concoct an ointment from the blood of screech owls, the fat of white hens, and the bile of black cats. Once the liniment is smeared along all thresholds, chimneys, window sashes, and other points of entry, you are safe from anyone bewitching you with a hand of glory.

I think my alchemist can make good use of a Hand of Glory.

Art: Antrobus & Grimm; The Modern World/ Pynchonzak Smith

Reference: The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, 2006, Visionary Living, Inc.

“The radiance was that of the full, setting, and blood-red moon, . . .

which now shone vividly through that once barely- discernible fissure,... extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction, to the base. While I gazed, this fissure rapidly widened.”
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), A metaphor for the defloration of the deceased Madeline Usher.

This marks the second in my Full Moon Blog Series. Full moons have long fascinated me, bringing day and night dreams of both fantasy and romantic passion, my two favorite writing topics.

Writing my current work in progress, Enchanted Bookstore: Seeking a Scribe, led me to research the folkore of full moons. That book involves a quest which must be completed by the rising of the Red Moon, before evil has a connection from my fantasy world of Draganspeir to the real world

The next time the full moon will rise is tomorrow, August 24th (17:06 GMT).

It is named the Red Moon because it appears slightly reddish, rising through the sultry heat haze of August. It was also named the Sturgeon Moon by Indian tribes of the Great Lakes region, when sturgeon are plentiful in those waters at this time in the summer. Other common names for this August moon are the Green Corn Moon, Lammas, Grain Moon, Barley Moon, Dispute Moon, Holly Moon , and Moon of Encirclement.

Many cultures celebrate gathered harvests with this moon, hence all the grain references. August 1st marks a Celtic feast called Lunasa or Lughnassadh, the celebration of grain harvest. This was known as Lammas, “Loaf Mass,” in Old English times.

It was originally known as Sextilis during Roman times, before being renamed as the August Moon after Augustus Ceasar. On three August dates, the 17th, 23rd, and 27th, the god Vulcan was honored, to ward off accidental fires during this dry month.

August held holy days in early Greece, celebrating on the 13th for Hecate, the Dark Mother, and on the 23rd for the Goddess Nemesis, who balanced the scales of justice with rightful punishment.

Continuing yet today in India, Hindus honor their elephant-headed god Ganesha in August, but it is unlucky to look upon the full moon during the celebration. Instead, flowers and dishes of rice are offered to images of the deity who is known to remove obstacles and bring good luck.
Correspondences of the August Moon
Nature Spirits: dryads
Herbs: chamomile, St. Johns wort, bay, angelica, fennel, rue, orange
Colours: yellow, gods
Flowers: sunflower, marigold
Scents: frankincense, heliotrop
Stones: cat's eye, carnelian, jasper, fire agate
Trees: hazel, alder, cedar
Animals: lion, phoenix, sphinx, dragon
Birds: crane, falcon, eagle
Deities: Ganesha, Thoth, Hathor, Diana, Hecate, Nemesis
Power Flow: energy into harvesting; gathering, appreciating. Vitality, health. Friendships.


On Tuesday evening be sure to pause and enjoy the dramatic beauty of the Red Moon.

Art: ukitakumuki and Holly 6669666 (Deviant Art)
Reference: Months of the Moon

Michelle Davidson Argyle talks about her new book, Cinders

It's a real pleasure to have Michelle Davidson Argyle as my guest today. She will be talking about her debut book, Cinders, which was released last week. I promptly ordered a copy, being so impressed with her excerpts and author style. It has been sitting on my desk less than twenty-four hours and my muse is demanding I make time to read it sooner than my work schedule will allow. This book has all the hallmarks of a reading treat not to be missed. I'm glad she's here today on my blog.
___________________________________________________________

I'm really happy to be here today, thank you! I'm first and foremost a writer. I've been writing seriously for 14 years, and recently published my first book, a fantasy/literary novella titled Cinders. I also write short fiction, contemporary novels (you know, like spy thrillers...), and I've currently got a YA novel in my files since I first started writing. It might take flight one day. I graduated from Utah Valley University with a Bachelor's Degree in English/Creative Writing in 2002. My short fiction has been published in the University of New Mexico's national literary journal, Scribendi, 2002, and was also given the staff poetry choice award for that journal in that year. I served as the editor-in-chief of Utah Valley University's literary magazine and I have won awards for my short stories.


I've also been a serious photographer for 6 years, and I have a 4-year-old daughter who sometimes drives me crazy!


BOOK BLURB:
Cinderella's happily-ever-after isn't turning out the way she expected. With her fairy godmother imprisoned in the castle and a mysterious stranger haunting her dreams, Cinderella is on her own to discover true love untainted by magic.


EXCERPT:
Every time Cinderella entered the ballroom she relived the first time. That night her feet had felt weightless stuffed inside the magic shoes, and dancing had come easily. Even when her legs grew tired, her feet kept moving, gliding past Rose’s glaring eyes until Rowland spotted her and took her into his arms for a dance. He didn’t let her go until he led her outside and she looked up at the moon hanging in a jet-black sky. He turned to her after they ambled along a thin frozen path in the garden. “Where did you come from?” he asked. “It’s as if you’ve opened my eyes to something—what, I don’t know. Who are you?” He pressed his hands to hers.

When she explained that she was the daughter of Sir Samuel Plimmswood who died when she was eight years old, he tightened his hold on her hands and apologized for being so forward, for touching her at all, for bringing her outside unaccompanied. “But I can’t help it,” he said with a desperate look. “How have we not met earlier?”

Shivering, she lifted her eyes to the bare trees, their smooth bark glowing bright under the moon. She explained there was much work to do at home and she had never stepped foot inside the castle before. She had never thought she would have the honor to meet…and then Rowland had kissed her and she knew Eolande’s spell was sealed, that Rowland’s heart belonged to her forever.

Even now, as she stepped into the ballroom the evening of Rowland’s birthday, her arm wrapped around his, she felt the connection to him that the kiss had secured. Eolande had warned her it was a connection that could not be broken easily, even if Cinderella never learned to love him.

She had thought she would.

Now she wondered why she hadn’t asked Eolande about the stranger when the spell was performed. But Eolande had distracted her with promises of Rowland’s undying love, something solid and certain. The stranger had been gone for two years—much too long for Cinderella to believe he was anything but a dream vanished to dust.

Purchase Links:
AMAZON
KINDLE
SMASHWORDS
AUTHOR SITE
LULU (for a pocket edition)

Author Link:
http://michelledavidsonargyle.blogspot.com/