Thunder Magick

Ah, Hawaii.

Rarely does Oahu get a good thunder-boomer going - but when we do get them, they come in from the North Pacific Ocean and generally dump torrential amounts of rain on us.  They are also not the typical Hawaiian rains, in that they stick around and pour for hours (usually, if you don't like the rain here, wait five minutes.)

But this is important rain - this is what keeps the island green, and keeps this land healthy.  And thunderstorms... well, a Hawaiian thunderstorm is no Great Plains boomer, carried across the land on the mighty wings of Thunderbird, but they have their place in magick, as well.

Religious Freedom and the Constitution: The Summer Solstice Protests in Pahokee, Florida

Sun: 09'Gemini
Moon: 02'Pisces
Waning Moon, approaching Last Quarter



Among other rights, the US Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion to all American citizens.  Any religion, none at all - that is the right of the citizen.

The Bible says to love thy neighbor as thyself.  One interpretation of this, in the social-responsibility context, that if you would like to continue to exercise your rights, you must allow and fight for your neighbor to do the same.  I note, however, that the words of Jesus make no mention of categorization or exception: there's no exemption to loving your gay neighbor, even if you don't like the idea of two people of the same sex in a loving, committed sexual relationship with one another.  And there's no exemption to loving your Pagan neighbor, even if you don't agree with their faith.

So I am curious how the good Evangelical Christian folks of Pahokee, Florida justify the bigotry in their own ranks.  Bigotry is a strong word, but take a look at these gems...

Full Moon

Sun: 3'Gemini
Moon: 23' Scorpio
Full Moon (within 1 day)

What a moon, what a moon - just shy of Full and I'm already feeling the effects.  I don't usually go "looney" under the Full Moon, but this one seems to be an exception.  Maybe it's the Earth-and-Water nature of being pregnant being acted on by the Moon?  Or maybe it's just that, in the last two hours, almost every single one of my major natal placings has been immediately touched by this lunar cycle under a personal New Moon.

Reminder: there is a small lunar eclipse paired with this one, our last one for a while.

Who else is feeling it?  Anyone have plans?  I plan on attending the local March Against Monsanto on Saturday.

Water

The local Wiccan circle had a meditation last night on water.  I find myself in the unusual position of being able to speak with some authority on the subject.

The main correspondences are clear to anyone who's studied for a decent amount of time.  The Moon, Venus, Neptune.  Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.  Moonstone, aquamarine, opal, obsidian, silver and quicksilver.  Willow, yew, rosemary, lilies of all kinds.  Animals that live on or near the water: that's a pretty wide variety from dolphins to dragonflies.  Ocean magick, river magick, wishing wells and mirrors.

What could water magick be used for, though?

25May2013 Lunar Eclipse and the March Against Monsanto

There will be a penumbral Lunar Eclipse on that day at 04'08"Sagittarius. According to CafeAstrology, the Sabian symbol for that degree is:

"An old owl sits alone on the branch of a large tree."

I don't use the Sabians often, but I find they frequently have chilling accuracy with regards to eclipses, and the effects of an eclipse will reverberate for six months after a lunar or a year after a solar (until the Sun returns to the eclipsed degree and begins a new cycle).

On that day, a worldwide protest is scheduled to protest the use and development of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), which are at this point a large portion of our food supply and are showing devastating links to major health issues, the evolution of "superweeds" and the overuse of pesticides, which is contributing to the sharp crash in the global domesticated bee population (or, as some call it, the Bee-pocalypse) that threatens the global food supply.

Given the conjunction of these two events, and also in respect to the multiplicity of events and times on that day, I will explore the astrology of the march, without tying my interpretation down to any particular location.  (The chart is drawn for Greenwich, ENG for convenience and uses the time as given by NASA.  Though the Sun and Moon are about a degree off exact in the chart as shown, the difference is negligible and will not affect chart interpretation.)
I will join this March Against Monsanto and support it locally, but I hold out little hope of it actually creating the change that needs to be made. Astrologically, it's just not there.  The symbol does not support it - wisdom (owl) goes unheard (alone) by the world (tree), nor does the chart carry the powerful indicators of a sea change.  See below the jump:

Spring Cleaning

20 April 2013
Sun: 01' Taurus  Moon: 0'Virgo (Waxing Gibbous)

Spring cleaning - I have yet to meet anyone who actually enjoys this activity.  But from a magickal perspective, not only is it necessary, but this is a great time to do it and it can become a family activity as well.

Let's face it: there really is no "bad" time of year to get rid of clutter, though working by sun or moon phase can help keep it from building back up again.  By sun phase, I mean what time of year it is.  Starting at Yule, the Solar energy builds through Candlemas, Ostara and Beltane, reaching its peak at Litha.  At Litha, growth energy begins to fade, the cycle drops to resting phase through Lughnasadgh, Mabon and Samhain, ultimately reaching its lowest "peak" at Yule: a full sine wave is completed, one cycle finished.

The magick of business and mass movements

16 April 2013
Sun: 27' Aries  Moon: 14' Cancer

Psychologists and sociologists have been trying for decades to understand "the mob mentality."  Usually they study it in negative terms: preventing riots and so forth, but occasionally it gets applied to wider social movements.  It does not make sense, how one can get a handful, dozens, hundreds, millions, a whole nation, behind a concept that none would consider on an individual basis - and yet it can be done.  History has borne out the devastating consequences of the misuse of this power.  We see it daily in the insanity of the badly misnamed American "Tea Party," although to be fair there is also a good dose of schitzophrenia there that should be addressed in another post.  And yet, the problem of the "mob mind" might well be best understood as both elementary and elemental.

April is the cruelest month

1605, 14APR2013
Sun: 25'Aries  Moon 17'Gemini

April is the cruelest month, they say, and I know it.  The Sun has entered Aries, bringing with it the hard-charging energies of the Ram and the gods of war (collectively called "Mars,") and in synchronicity the Northern Hemisphere's pursuit of new life and reproduction takes over in full force and flower, with all the beauty and mercy of a diamond.

Nothing is born, without something dying to make way for it.

The obligatory self-introduction

1455, 14APR2013
Sun: 25' Aries  Moon: 17'Gemini

First post on what is to become a public weblog devoted to the study of Witchcraft and astrology.  What to say first?

I could say that I am a Witch and a Thelemite, that I have looked to Athena for almost twenty years, that I have practiced witchcraft, astrology and tarot for almost as long. 

There is much that I could say, actually, all of which ties in with my magickal life in one way or another and takes up a lot of space, but which does not really mean anything.  I will not call myself a lightworker, though neither am I a black magickian.  I do not shy from the shadows, nor am I blinded by light: all must walk in balance.  It is said that a Witch who cannot hex, cannot heal: I have known truth in this statement.

I will let the mind and the heart and the spirit decide what needs to be said, though the topics may ramble.  For now, the most important thing I could say is that I go by Starlight, and I make the conscious choice now to follow the guidance I have been given by my Polaris.  What I know, I must teach, without forgetting that I too must always continue to learn.  This blog will serve as a training tool for myself as well.

 - Starlight