Vintage Poster - Hill Magical Company (1900)

 

This lovely poster is in the public domain and available for free download from the New York Public Library digital collection.  A variety of file sizes are available or you can use the online viewer to zoom in on the delightful details. You can also order prints!  Find it here.

What fun

 Eight months since my last post and another ugly battle with my old buddy the mental health monster has really done a number on my confidence.  I drag myself back to the drawing board once again, fresh from a recalcitrant appointment with the psychiatrist.  I haven 't been doing much blogging but I have been keeping watch over the moon, the stars, the seasons, and the weather.  Despite everything going haywire around me and all the superfluous stress we humans subject ourselves to daily, these things are always there, just doing their thing, as they did before we existed and will after we're gone.  I find it comforting that these forces are so much bigger than my petty fears.  They won't ever be disappointed in my failures.  Not everything is about me, and thank goodness for that.

Growing with the Moon

I keep regretting the loss of "wherever I heard that from" when a lovely thought persists and inspires my practice.  This seems a calling to create a scrapbook / junk journal gathering of ideas I see across the web so I can get back to them. I've been thinking of some advice I saw recently for the newbie witch to start by learning about the phases of the moon.  While I'm not a newbie witch, I have been out of practice lately and found this advice calling me back.  What a simple task!  I already had the tool I needed to get back in touch with the moon cycle: an almanac.  You know the old farmer's almanac at the grocery store checkout? They always have moon dates.  These are still used for planting and hunting because of the effects the moon is believed to have on creatures and plants.  Widely regarded as folklore or superstition, this stuff is also highly relevant to witches interested in moon magic.

So I started paying attention again, and learning more about the moon. Since the moon affects us creatures here below, it makes sense to me that different moon phases correspond with different moods or energies.  In studying moon phases I found some rather good graphics on Pinterest and I'm keen to make my own moon chart.

Fittingly, I started this project during a new moon, the first of the year.  It's daunting to put my ideas into action and realize how much I have to learn.  I look at my little bare bones blog and think it's quite amateur. When I think of it as a new moon with just a tiny sliver of light growing at the edge, I feel encouraged. Time to let my dreams grow with this beautiful moon of ours!

Lunar New Year

Today marks the Lunar New Year which is always celebrated on a new moon.  I love the idea of a lunar calendar where the months are organized around the moon cycle instead of the solar calendar we use here in the West.

Seems a perfect time to study the moon! There's a great Moon Phases Calendar at almanac.com that gives detailed moon times based on your zip code and explains the different phases.  With the new moon just yesterday, today's waxing crescent shows only 1% illumination.  There's also a guide to the rising and setting times based on the moon's phase. Since today's moon is in the waxing crescent phase I can expect it to be highest in the sky during the afternoon. This helps plan activities like hunting, planting, and spellwork by the moon.

Hedges and Herbs

A place to celebrate my connection to the mother.  Hedge witchery, herbalism, magic spells and divinatory arts call to me and so I create this space to gather knowlege, hone my skills, and expand my horizons.

Where to begin?  It seems overwhelming.  I think the moon is a great place to start. Studying the moon is a great way to start exploring our connection to nature.  With her different phases and mysterious effects on plants, animals, and even the oceans, she's a cornerstone of my practice.

Another important way for me to connect with the mother is keeping in tune with the weather and the seasons.  The pagan wheel of the year and a trusty old almanac help me stay in touch with the natural cycle.

The wheel shows how the pagan holidays fit into this cycle.

The simplest way to connect with the mother is simply to touch her.  Go outside. Talk to trees. Grow herbs.  Linger in the hedges and forage wild food.