Flag Day
Hi, folks!
Sunshine! Lots of sunshine! I got awakened (Tempus was long since up) by the phone ringing a little before 8am. There were deer in our backyard! Star put up a picture and I’ve shared it. I’ll try to add it to the newsletter.
There’ve been a number of the gold birds, both the grosbeaks and the finches, on the feeders this morning.
Take a look at the calendar below. I’ve added the various activities around town, just for the next couple of days. It’s going to be a fun weekend!
Yesterday I harvested a lot of flowers on the way to the shop and then had to process those, plus the ones I’ve been neglecting all week before I could get the hood pattern put together. Once that was done I headed home and then I worked on updating Café Press all yesterday…and felt like I got nowhere….although I did!
Today there’s no Waldport Chamber of Commerce meeting, so I’m just heading for the City Council meeting at 2pm. There’s no class tonight, either, so I’m going to be trying to get myself ahead on newsletter stuff for the next few days. There may not be much of a note over the weekend, so I’m going to try to get some basics put together today.
Lupa has gotten me the info for the two workshops that she’s doing during the July Fair. The info has gone up on the shop website, but here it is.
Therianthropy – 4pm. Saturday, July 7 - Ever wondered what it's like to be a werewolf? Therianthropy is the modern interpretation of inherent internalized animal energy--in other words, being human and animal simultaneously. Learn about what therianthropy is (and isn't), what it's like to be a therian, and the magical implications thereof.
The Pagan Publishing Industry – 10am, Sunday, July 8 - You've got some great ideas and you have friends who tell you that you should write a book. But is that all there is to the pagan writing industry? In this workshop, Lupa offers you her perspectives as an experienced writer and editor for Immanion Press/Megalithica Books, a pagan and occult publishing company. She'll tell you of the importance of promotion, marketing, and--of course--writing. If you want to get a book published, come to this workshop. Special emphasis on nonfiction.
Ok, where’s the sunshine go? The computer still says it’s clear. What?
The shop opens at 10 today. There’s no class tonight, so we’ll probably close on time. Summer hours, 10am-7pm, Wednesday through Monday. If we’re supposed to be closed, but it looks like we’re there, try the door. If it’s open, the shop’s open!
Love & Light,
Anja
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Ancient Light’s website – www.ancientlight.info – You *can* order from here! …or e-mail…or call on the phone… or Facebook….etc…..
Tempus does Outdoor Power Equipment repair & sharpenings - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Magycke-Mower-Small -Engine-Service/132610430115634
http://www.ancientlight.info/magycke/
Café Press Products from Ancient Light - http://www.cafepress.com/ancientlight Everything from T-shirts to pillows to coffee mugs to journals with witchy or just fun designs! The newest designs are here: http://www.cafepress.com/ancientlight/8866346 These are the Your Personal Satyr designs. …plus we have a new set just for Pan-Pagan with this year’s logo.
Spoonflower Fabrics - http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/coastalanja The newest designs are in the Anja’s Spring Garden collection (think daffodils in the snow and violets…). We have designs for sale in the Bugs ‘n Slugs Collection, the Garden Collection and Mushroom Collection and two Pagan Collections are coming soon.
Our Circle’s site! - http://www.ancientlight.info/circle/ Add things by e-mailing me here. mbartlett@harborside.com
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Today
The Moon is a waning crescent. Waning Moon Magick - From the Full Moon to the New is a time for study, meditation, and magic designed to banish harmful energies and habits, for ridding oneself of addictions, illness or negativity. Waning Crescent Moon –Best time for beginning introspective magicks that are more long term. Phase ends at 8:02pm on Thursday.
Globular star clusters are not all alike. But some do look more similar than others. With the Moon out of the sky, now is a fine time to compare and contrast many of them in your scope. See the Springtime Globular Cluster Tour in the June Sky & Telescope, page 62.
Uranus (magnitude 5.9, at the Pisces-Cetus border) is in the east before the first light of dawn. Neptune (magnitude 7.9, in Aquarius) is in the southeast before dawn. Finder charts for Uranus and Neptune.
Celtic Tree Month of Duir Oak - Jun 10 - Jul 7 –
Goddess Month of Rosea runs from 6/13 - 7/10
Runic Half-month of Odal 5/29-6/13- The rune Odel signifies ancestral property, the homestead, and all those things that are “one’s own”.
Runic half-month of Dag, 6/14-6/28 – Beneficial rune of light, health, prosperity and openings, signifying the high point of the day and the high point of the year when in light and warmth all things are possible.
Sun in Gemini
Moon in Aries enters Taurus 9:22am
Chiron, Neptune, Venus, Saturn, Juno, Pluto Retrograde
Color: Turquoise
Harvest 6/12-14
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©2012 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright
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Calendar
6/14 – Thursday – Waldport City Council Meeting – 2pm
6/14 - 5pm - Wicca 103 – Lesson 7 (no class this week)
Planting 6/15-16
6/15-17 – Waldport Beachcomber Days
6/15 – Friday - Souvenir Green Screen Portraits Noon-6pm
7-11pm, Live Music & Open Air Dance at the Salty Dawg
7-10pm, Karaoke Contest at the Moose Lodge
9-10pm, Bonfire behind the Interpretive Center
6/16 – Saturday, 10am-6pm - Souvenir Green Screen Portraits (at Ancient Light)
11am - Herb Workshop (not this week)
Noon-ish – Care and Feeding of a Rock Tumbler (not this week)
3pm - Sewing Workshop (not this week)
7-10am – Sunrise Breakfast Lions Club at Community/Senior Center
8am – Windermere Wet & Wild 5K Walk/Run, starts at Bayshore Beach Club
9am-4pm Dunk Tank – Waldport Boosters High School Class, West side of Firehouse
9am – Parade Registration at Waldport High School
10am – Vendor Fair Opens
10-4pm Waldport Boosters Chicken BBQ
10-5 Catholic Church Strawberry Short Cake Sale
11am-3pm Fire Department Sausage BBQ
NOON – PARADE
Noon - ? Moose Kitchen Open with limited menu
1-4pm Flounder Inn Beer Garden and Music
1-3pm Kids Zone & Moose Rootbeer Float Garden (behind Mims)
2-3pm – Oregon Coast Wind Ensemble (Community Center)
3-5pm – Adult Games (behind Mims)
4pm – Adult Tricycle Jousting – Bring your own tricycle
5-11pm – Moose Lodge Street Dance
8pm-Midnight – Flounder Inn – Live Music by 80 Prrof Country
8:30-9pm – Sol Fire Dancers (in front of Moose Lodge)
Harvest 6/17-18
6/17 – Sunday, 10am – Wicca 101
Noon - Brea’s Elements (class)
2pm - Practical Craft (not this week)
8am-Noon Father’s Day Breakfast at the Moose Lodge
10am-Noon – Sand Castle & Sculpture contest (from Port to Bridge)
1pm – Sand Castle judging
Noon – Raffle Winner announced
6/18 – Monday – 6pm – Wicca 101 – Lesson 5-6
Treasure Chest Drawings start at Noon at Washington Federal Bank
New Moon, 6/19, 8:02am
Sun enters Cancer 4:09pm
Planting 6/20-21
6/20 – Wednesday, 3pm – Herbs Outdoors – (weather permitting)
6/20 – Wednesday 7pm, Circle business meeting for Litha (run-through)
6/21 - 5pm - Wicca 103 – Lesson 7
Litha Sabbat Open Circle, 6/22, Friday, 7pm at Ancient Light (waxing moon)
6/21 - 3pm, Crones’ Tea
Saturn Direct 6-25-12 1am
Venus Direct 6-27-12 8:07am
6/28 - 5pm - Wicca 101-4 – Special Class on the History of Wicca!!!!!! (Donations will be accepted for Deb’s gas to get here from Eugene)
Planting 6/29-30
June 30 - July8 – Psychic Fair – Special Guests, Kat Cunningham, Carl Neal & Lupa Bi
6/30 – Saturday, 10am-6pm – Kat Cunningham
6/30 – Saturday, 11am - Herb Workshop
Noon - Care & Feeding of a Rock Tumbler
2pm –
3pm - Sewing Workshop
6pm - Metta Meditation
7pm – Movie Night, showing Full Circle (discussion follows)
7/1 – Sunday, 10am – Wicca 101
Noon - Brea’s Elements (class)
1pm – Free showing of ?
3pm – Discussion follows movie
7pm – Movie Night, showing The Goddess Remembered (discussion follows)
7/2 – Monday, Carl Neal Workshops
11am - Herb Workshop
7pm – Movie Night, showing The Burning Times (discussion follows)
The Day of Remembrance for Knjaz Sviatoslav the Great - Cherven (July) 3
Full Blessing Moon – 7/3/12 11:52am - Successful Goat Moon
7/3 – Tuesday, 6pm - Circle Barbeque
7/3 – Waldport Independence Day Celebration (fireworks begin at dusk)
Planting 7/4
7/4 – 11am - Herb Workshop
3pm – Sewing Workshop
7/4 – Wednesday 7pm, esbat – waning
Harvest 7/5-6
7/5, Thursday – 11am - Herb Workshop
3pm – Sewing Workshop
5pm – Wicca 102 begins
7/6, Friday – 11am - Herb Workshop
3pm – Sewing Workshop
7pm – Movie Night, showing Howl’s Moving Castle (discussion follows)
Planting 7/7-8
7/7 – Saturday, Readings by Angelica Rose
11am - Herb Workshop
Noon - Care & Feeding of a Rock Tumbler
3pm - Sewing Workshop
4pm – Lupa, Therianthropy 101 (1 hour) Lupa Bi
6pm - Metta Meditation
7pm – Movie Night, showing Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) (discussion follows)
7/8 – Sunday, 10am – Wicca 101 (no class this week)
10am – Lupa, Writer's Q&A (1 - 1.5 hours)
Noon - Brea’s Elements (class)
1pm – Free showing of Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime)
3pm – Discussion follows movie
July 8-14 Free Cascadia Witch Camp www.freewitchcamp.org
Harvest 7/9-11
Planting 7/12-13
7/12 – Thursday – Waldport Chamber of Commerce meeting – Noon
Waldport City Council Meeting – 2pm
Uranus Retrograde 7-13-12 2:49am
Harvest 7/14-15
Mercury Retrograde 7-14-12 7:16pm
Juno Direct 7-16-12 3:57am
Planting 7/17-18
7/18 – Wednesday 7pm, esbat - dark moon esbat
New Moon, 7/18, 9:24pm
7/19 - 3pm, Crones’ Tea
7/20 – Ramadan Begins
Perun's Day - Cherven (July) 20
Sun enters Leo 7/22 3:01am
7/25 - Wednesday 7pm- biz meeting, Lughnasadh run-through
Planting 7/26-27
Pallas Retrograde 7-30-12 3:30pm
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8/1 - Wednesday 7pm, esbat - full moon
Full Corn Moon – 8/1 8:27 – Dreaming Heron Moon
Harvest 8-2
Planting 8/3-8/5
Lughnasadh Sabbat Open Circle, Friday 8/3, 7pm at Ancient Light – Full Moon Waning
August 4-5 – Psychic Fair – Special Guest, Carl Neal
August 4-5 – Pathways to Transformation Psychic Fair, Yachats Commons
Harvest 8-6-7
Oregon Coast Pan-Pagan Gathering, Friday – Sunday, September 28-30
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www.wunderground.com
Jun. 14, 2012, Rise, Set
Actual Time, 5:31 AM PDT, 9:02 PM PDT
Civil Twilight, 4:54 AM PDT, 9:39 PM PDT
Nautical Twilight, 4:06 AM PDT, 10:27 PM PDT
Astronomical Twilight, 3:03 AM PDT, 11:30 PM PDT
Moon, 2:24 AM PDT, 4:45 PM PDT
Length Of Visible Light, 16h 44m
Length of Day, 15h 31m
Tomorrow will be 0m 24s longer.
Waning Crescent, 21% of the Moon is Illuminated
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Celtic tree month of Duir Oak - Jun 10 - Jul 7 - The oak of myth and legend is the common oak (Quercus robur L.). It is sometimes called the great oak, which is a translation of its Latin name (robur is the root of the English word "robust"). It grows with ash and beech in the lowland forests, and can reach a height of 150 feet and age of 800 years. Along with ashes, oaks were heavily logged throughout recent millennia, so that the remaining giant oaks in many parts of Europe are but a remnant of forests past. Like most other central and northern European trees, common oaks are deciduous, losing their leaves before Samhain and growing new leaves in the spring so that the trees are fully clothed by Bealltaine. Common oaks are occasionally cultivated in North America, as are the similar native white oak, valley oak, and Oregon oak. Oaks are members of the Beech family (Fagaceae). Curtis Clark
Duir - Oak Ogam letter correspondences
Month: May
Color: Black and Dark Brown
Class: Chieftain
Letter: D
Meaning: Security; Strength
to study this month - Eadha - White Poplar or Aspen Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Silver White
Class: Shrub
Letter: E
Meaning: Problems; Doubts; Fears.
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Tides for Alsea Bay
Day High Tide Height Sunrise Moon Time % Moon
/Low Time Feet Sunset Visible
Th 14 Low 4:10 AM 0.7 5:31 AM Rise 2:24 AM 27
14 High 10:18 AM 4.9 9:02 PM Set 4:45 PM
14 Low 3:34 PM 2.5
14 High 9:46 PM 7.2
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Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Strive for progress, not perfection.
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Journal Prompt – Wiki - What are you saving up for?
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Quotes
Computer dating is fine, if you're a computer. - Rita May Brown
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. - Mark Twain
Difficulties strengthen the mind, as well as labor does the body. - Seneca
Do your own useful work without regard to the honor or admiration your efforts might win from others. There is no such thing as vicarious merit. – Epictetus
O Master of the wineshop, pour me a cup now!
Don't say "tomorrow"; waiting brings despair.
If you have no wine, pour Pharaoh's blood;
The Moses of my soul has come to the meeting
And his wine is the blood of the Enemy.
Lions love hunting: how bloody their jaws and claws are!
It is my blood that gushes all over them. - Jalal-ud-Din Rumi
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Magick – Litha
A Midsummer's Celebration - A history of St. John's Eve, the celebration of the sun. By Mike Nichols - Reprinted from The Witches' Sabbats website. Used with permission.
The young maid stole through the cottage door, and blushed as she sought the Plant of pow'r;
"Thou silver glow-worm,
O lend me thy light,
I must gather the mystic
St. John's wort tonight,
The wonderful herb,
whose leaf will decide,
if the coming year
shall make me a bride."
In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four "quarter-days" of the year, and modern Witches call them the four "Lesser Sabbats," or the four "Low Holidays." The summer solstice is one of them.
Technically, a solstice is an astronomical point and, due to the procession of the equinox, the date may vary by a few days depending on the year. The summer solstice occurs when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, and we experience the longest day and the shortest night of the year. Astrologers know this as the date on which the sun enters the sign of Cancer.
However, since most European peasants were not accomplished at reading an ephemeris or did not live close enough to Salisbury Plain to trot over to Stonehenge and sight down its main avenue, they celebrated the event on a fixed calendar date, June 24th. The slight forward displacement of the traditional date is the result of multitudinous calendrical changes down through the ages. It is analogous to the winter solstice celebration, which is astronomically on or about December 21st, but is celebrated on the traditional date of December 25th, Yule, later adopted by the Christians.
Again, it must be remembered that the Celts reckoned their days from sundown to sundown, so the June 24th festivities actually begin on the previous sundown (our June 23rd). This was Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Eve. Which brings up another point: our modern calendars are quite misguided in suggesting that "summer begins" on the solstice. According to the old folk calendar, summer begins on May Day and ends on Lammas (August 1st), with the summer solstice, midway between the two, marking midsummer. This makes more logical sense than suggesting that summer begins on the day when the sun's power begins to wane and the days grow shorter.
Although our Pagan ancestors probably preferred June 24th (and indeed most European folk festivals today use this date), the sensibility of modern Witches seems to prefer the actual solstice point, beginning the celebration on its eve, or the sunset immediately preceding the solstice point. Again, it gives modern Pagans a range of dates to choose from with, hopefully, a weekend embedded in it.
Just as the Pagan midwinter celebration of Yule was adopted by Christians as Christmas (December 25th), so too the Pagan midsummer celebration was adopted by them as the feast of John the Baptist (June 24th). Occurring 180 degrees apart on the wheel of the year, the midwinter celebration commemorates the birth of Jesus, while the midsummer celebration commemorates the birth of John, the prophet who was born six months before Jesus in order to announce his arrival.
Although modern Witches often refer to the holiday by the rather generic name of Midsummer's Eve, it is more probable that our Pagan ancestors of a few hundred years ago actually used the Christian name for the holiday, St. John's Eve. This is evident from the wealth of folklore that surrounds the summer solstice (i.e. that it is a night especially sacred to the faerie folk) but which is inevitably ascribed to "St. John's Eve," with no mention of the sun's position. It could also be argued that a Coven's claim to antiquity might be judged by what name it gives the holidays. (Incidentally, the name "Litha" for the holiday is a modern usage, possibly based on a Saxon word that means the opposite of Yule. Still, there is little historical justification for its use in this context.) But weren't our Pagan ancestors offended by the use of the name of a Christian saint for a pre-Christian holiday?
Well, to begin with, their theological sensibilities may not have been as finely honed as our own. But secondly, and more importantly, St. John himself was often seen as a rather Pagan figure. He was, after all, called "the Oak King." His connection to the wilderness (from whence "the voice cried out") was often emphasized by the rustic nature of his shrines. Many statues show him as a horned figure (as is also the case with Moses). Christian iconographers mumble embarrassed explanations about "horns of light," while modern Pagans giggle and happily refer to such statues as "Pan the Baptist." And to clench matters, many depictions of John actually show him with the lower torso of a satyr, cloven hooves and all! Obviously, this kind of John the Baptist is more properly a Jack in the Green! Also obvious is that behind the medieval conception of St. John lies a distant, shadowy Pagan deity, perhaps the archetypal Wild Man of the Wood, whose face stares down at us through the foliate masks that adorn so much church architecture. Thus medieval Pagans may have had fewer problems adapting than we might suppose.
In England, it was the ancient custom on St. John's Eve to light large bonfires after sundown, which served the double purpose of providing light to the revelers and warding off evil spirits. This was known as "setting the watch." People often jumped through the fires for good luck. In addition to these fires, the streets were lined with lanterns, and people carried cressets (pivoted lanterns atop poles) as they wandered from one bonfire to another. These wandering, garland-bedecked bands were called a "marching watch." Often they were attended by morris dancers, and traditional players dressed as a unicorn, a dragon, and six hobby-horse riders. Just as May Day was a time to renew the boundary on one's own property, so Midsummer's Eve was a time to ward the boundary of the city.
Customs surrounding St. John's Eve are many and varied. At the very least, most young folk plan to stay up throughout the whole of this shortest night. Certain courageous souls might spend the night keeping watch in the center of a circle of standing stones. To do so would certainly result in either death, madness, or (hopefully) the power of inspiration to become a great poet or bard. (This is, by the way, identical to certain incidents in the first branch of the "Mabinogion.") This was also the night when the serpents of the island would roll themselves into a hissing, writhing ball in order to engender the "glain," also called the "serpent's egg," "snake stone," or "Druid's egg." Anyone in possession of this hard glass bubble would wield incredible magical powers. Even Merlyn himself (accompanied by his black dog) went in search of it, according to one ancient Welsh story.
Snakes were not the only creatures active on Midsummer's Eve. According to British faery lore, this night was second only to Halloween for its importance to the wee folk, who especially enjoyed a ridling on such a fine summer's night. In order to see them, you had only to gather fern seed at the stroke of midnight and rub it onto your eyelids. But be sure to carry a little bit of rue in your pocket, or you might well be "pixie-led." Or, failing the rue, you might simply turn your jacket inside-out, which should keep you from harm's way. But if even this fails, you must seek out one of the "ley lines," the old straight tracks, and stay upon it to your destination. This will keep you safe from any malevolent power, as will crossing a stream of "living" (running) water.
Other customs included decking the house (especially over the front door) with birch, fennel, St. John's wort, orpin, and white lilies. Five plants were thought to have special magical properties on this night: rue, roses, St. John's wort, vervain and trefoil. Indeed, Midsummer's Eve in Spain is called the "Night of the Verbena (Vervain)." St. John's wort was especially honored by young maidens who picked it in the hopes of divining a future lover.
And the glow-worm came
With its silvery flame,
And sparkled and shone
Through the night of St. John,
And soon has the young maid her love-knot tied.
There are also many mythical associations with the summer solstice, not the least of which concerns the seasonal life of the God of the sun. Inasmuch as I believe that I have recently discovered certain associations and correspondences not hitherto realized, I have elected to treat this subject in some depth in another essay. Suffice it to say here, I disagree with the generally accepted idea that the Sun-God meets his death at the summer solstice. I believe there is good reason to see the Sun-God at his zenith--his peak of power--on this day, and that his death at the hands of his rival would not occur for another quarter of a year. Material drawn from the Welsh mythos seems to support this thesis. In Irish mythology, Midsummer is the occasion of the first battle between the Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha De Danaan.
Altogether, Midsummer is a favorite holiday for many Witches in that it is so hospitable to outdoor celebrations. The warm summer night seems to invite it. And if the celebrants are not in fact sky clad, then you may be fairly certain that the long ritual robes of winter have yielded place to short, tunic-style apparel. As with the longer gowns, tradition dictates that one should wear nothing underneath--the next best thing to skyclad, to be sure. (Incidentally, now you know the real answer to the old Scottish joke, "What is worn beneath the kilt?")
The two chief icons of the holiday are the spear (symbol of the Sun-God in his glory) and the summer cauldron (symbol of the Goddess in her bounty). The precise meaning of these two symbols, which I believe I have recently discovered, will be explored in the essay on the death of Llew. But it is interesting to note here that modern Witches often use these same symbols in the Midsummer rituals. And one occasionally hears the alternative consecration formula, "As the spear is to the male, so the cauldron is to the female..." With these mythic associations, it is no wonder that Midsummer is such a joyous and magical occasion!
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Energy list
6/12/12 – Wanting to have a baby and it’s taking a while.
6/11/12 – Had brain surgery today for a right brain cancerous tumor.
6/6/12 – A friend is having cancer surgery today and asking for help.
6/4/12 – Neighbor harassing and stalking. The law isn’t helping. Putting up wardings and could use some energy to get them to go up and stay up!
6/2/12 – Student in 101 class, had flu, collapsed, ended up in hospital, now has a lung filling up with fluid…. Help! Update 6/7 – She’s quit smoking, is up and running around, but still coughing pretty hard.
5/29/12 – Car accident. Painful, not serious, but ow!
5/19/12 – Dealing with a persistent ex, a mistake from the git-go, stressed and feeling under attack constantly. Help!
5/16/12 – For someone who has found a dream job and wants some extra oomph to help him get it.
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Silliness - GCF: Fore!
My 5-year-old nephew wanted to caddy for my brother's golf game. "You have to count my strokes," my brother told him. "How much is six plus nine plus eight?"
"Five." answered the nephew.
"Okay," my brother said, "let's go."
