An 18+ server created to educate those partial to witchcraft, occult, and spiritualism. A place where those who are seeking community can come and discuss subjects with like minded people. The staff all believe that the practice of Witchcraft should be used in junction with modern medicine to create a lifestyle that is full and joyous. We believe that Witchcraft is in no way shape or form a replacement for therapy or modern medicine. Witchcraft is also something that an individual has to work to and is not just something that happens. Intent is a part of Witchcraft but is NOT the whole. Learning correspondences to herbs, times of day, moon cycles, channeling energy and so much more are what make true magic happen. We also believe that positive, neutral, and negative magic is valid and no one of these is better than the other. As a member it is up to you to be aware that some people do not use negative magic and some do, this is a choice of the individual and not of a group. The server is a welcoming place but there are boundaries that staff have set that a member should NOT cross; such as if you wouldn't do it in public don't do it online. If you are searching for a community, friendships, information and more we may be the right fit for you. Currently seeking experienced practitioners for Moderator and Educator positions. https://discord.gg/VrZn2m3Gqh
》 Many types of witchcraft and magickal practices tend to push the ideas of some sort of ethical law. In wicca there is the rede of 'harm none do as thou will'. There is the ideology of the three-fold rule, what ever you put out returns three times as worse or better unto you. There is the idea of karama, that you will recieve a retribution for the acts that you perform. You can choose to believe any of these things or deny that they exist, however practitioners must take responsibility for the energy that they use when performing magick. The world is full of balance, you may do baneful workings and see no issues in your own life but be fully aware that these workings may be causing issues elsewhere, not just the intended target. Claiming responsibility for your energy, the energy you manifest, the spirits and the Deities that are with you is a must when stepping into magickal practices. The spells that you perform may or may not rebound to you, so knowing what you did and how to correct it if need arises is a lesson of its own making.
⚝ Respect ⚝
》 In all of your practice there should be respect for everything you use, call upon, or seek help from. Do not disrespect powers that are older than you such as the elements, deities, herbs, animals, etc. Try to approach older practitioners with respect as well, for they have walked the path that you currently travel. Their words are guidance, they do not wish to scare you or make you feel as though something cannot be done. Older practitioners want to help and aide new practitioners so that they don't have to find things out the hard way. If you disrespect the greater powers or older practitioners be weary of what may come your way and be ready to give tidings to offer apologies for the things you may have done.
⚝ Intuition and Intent ⚝
》 Foundational knowledge is key to making magick happen. Understanding history, symbolism, traditions, correspondences, and how ingredients come together creates a well rounded practice. If intent was the end all be all anyone could wake up and be a powerful practitioner without even having learned a single thing about magick. Your gut, intuition, is a big part of creating your practice but it should not be all that you rely on. It is called a practice for a reason, it takes time, information, and education. There are those with natural gifts however if they are not expanded upon or repetitively practices they will never grow to their full potential. Do not make the mistake of thinking your intent and intuition are all that is required. However, do learn to trust your intuition in certain cases. If you are getting the overwhelming sensation to not do something, then don't do it. If something doesn't feel right explore that feeling and uncover the reasoning. Never fully ignore your gut but also there are times when you need not fully rely on it either, you must find this balance.
⚝ Patience ⚝
》 If you rush your learning there will be mistakes. If you rush your spells there will be backfire. Take your time and plan things out. Do not give in to the ideology that it has to be done quickly. Quickness leads to sloppy and ineffective work. By not following wppropriate steps in learning you put yourself at risk to encounter something you cannot defend yourself from. By speeding through a spell you do not give it the energy or focus needed to make it potent and feasible. You will end up in a situation that you may not be able to fix if you rush learning and spell crafting. Do not allow set backs to deter you from your craft. Set backs are just lessons in disguise. Learn from them, rework your practice and move on.
⚝ Perfectionism ⚝
》 You are human, to be so is to be imperfect. Striving for perfection in your practice is admirable but do not become perturbed when things are not perfect. Mistakes become lessons on how to better perform our magickal workings. Write down each working and analyze what went well and what did not, as well as the outcome. This will help you to create a better spell or practice. Don't worry about doing something grand in your practice each day, becoming to focused on your craft can lead to an embalance within your life, whice is NOT healthy. If you feel you need to do something magickal related everyday do the small things: stirring tea or coffee with intent, adding herbs to meals to herb boost a, b and c, meditation for 10 mins a day, standing in sunlight for a few minutes, all these things can be simple magickal practices to incorporate into your daily routine.
⚝ Practice ⚝
》 Magick does not just happen. You do not will things into being or spell things into suddenly appearing. Magick is a practice, as in a continuous routine within your life to make things better along side the aid of modernity and medicine. Magick does not replace the science that we have today. It is in junction with these things that magick can make a person's life fuller and more rewarding. Do not go into the idea of magick as it will give you what you want and need immediately. There is no magic pill only a magickal practice to be built on and used to tune your life to thw frequency that you need it to be at to be happy and healthy.
⚝ Individualization ⚝
》 Do not try to mirror the journey that someone else has taken. This is your practice, your journey, make it unique to you. Remember that what works for one may not work for someone else. Your beliefs and experiences should be what mold your craft and practice, don't let the experiences of someone else try to force you into a mold. Also, your path can be an amalgamation of traditions. Do not think for a moment that you must follow a map that is predetermined. Be open to learning all the traditions and information that you can and use what bits that you find to fit within your practice. You do not have to be just an herbalist or just a diviner, you are more than just one aspect of magick. You create your practice. Make it what you need it to be and if later in life it needs adjusting that is okay as well.
⚝ Mindfulness ⚝
》 When you set a goal to manifest you must mindfully push forward to that goal each day. Small steps add up over time, however setting a goal and not making an effort to achieve said goal is passive manifestation and will take a very long time for the goal to come to fruition, if it at all. Be aware of the goals you set everyday and the things that you can do to reach those goals. Small steps lead to big rewards, but no steps leads to stagnation. You do not have to dive head first into making the things you are trying to manifest happen but manifestation takes an active participant to work. Do not sit back and hope that these things will happen, you are in control of your life and the outcomes within it. Be an active participant.
⚝ Economics ⚝
》 You do not need all the fancy tools, herbs, and books that are being pushed for sale in modern spiritual shops. A aimple notebook or file on your computer for your grimoire or book of shadows. A fallen stick that you have adorned with string from a tree that you have always admired as your wand. A butterknife as you athame. Be frugal in your purchases. It is ok to find things in nature, thrift stores, or dollar stores. Magick does not have to be expensive and extravagant to work. Often, it is the simplest spells and items that create true lasting magick. It is also good to know where the items you are purchasing come from. Ethical sourcing has become a large problem within the magickal community. The only way to achieve a better economy within our community is to hold ourselves accountable.
We aim to provide an inclusive witchcraft and metaphysical educational space. | 131 members
⚝ All witches or magickal practitioners are wiccans.
》 This is the most in accurate thought process to ever sweep through the mundane communities. Wicca is a fairly new practice and is an amalgamation of old world magicks from many different cultures. Wicca was founded in the 1900s and became popular due to the Gardnerian Wicca sect in the 60s. Some Wiccans do not use the term witch, most witches do not use the term Wiccan. All magickal practitioners define theirself differently and the majority are reconstructionalists of cultures that are FAR older than Wicca, in fact before calling someonw a Wiccan or a Witch it is best to ask how the practitioned identifies themself within their practice.
⚝ Witches are female and Wizards and male.
》 A practitioner can be any gender or no gender. To force such a binary thought process onto magick is confining and incorrect. Anyone can practice magick no matter their pronouns. Again, ask the practitioner what they wish to be called in their line of practice. Do not push your thought process onto someone else's ideologies. Instead of you are curious, ask questions before assuming the answers.
⚝ Every practitioner follows The Wheel of the Year.
》 The Wheel of the Year is a Wiccan creation that has taken holidays from older Celtic, Nordic and Anglo-Saxon cultures to create a celebratory timeline. As previously stated not all practitioners are Wiccan and thus The Wheel of the Year is not a part of everyone's practice. You will find those who are not Wiccan may adhere to the wheel but you will also find practitioners who have created their own celebrations. The equinoxes are typically celebrated in most reconstructed cultures, however there are far more holidays within each specific culture than a wheel could ever hold.
In a community such as the Occult, it is common for those who are not members to not understand the nuances of what Occult Community Members truly believe. It is our job to correct the wrong information and to forge ahead in helping those outside our circles to understand. We should never add to the flames of judgment but provide a safe space to give knowledge correctly to those willing to listen. To learn more, visit us at The Occult Lounge Discord.
We aim to provide an inclusive witchcraft and metaphysical educational space. | 132 members
✾ Misconception #1: Magick is an evil practice full of devil worshippers
The 'devil' is a social construct along with 'god'. These being were created by man to give reason to how the world, moon, sun, stars and even mankind's existence came to be. However, that is not to say that there is no greater power at play within the world, most magickal practices acknowledge some divine being or beings. However, most practitioners do not worship the devil. There are some sects of the craft that do indeed follow beings that are portrayed as such but these are not the majority.
Magick in and of itself is neither good nor evil. It just is. Same as how the wind just is. The wind can either cool you from the blistering sun or knock over a tree when the rains release the roots from the ground. These instances are neither good nor evil. They are positive and negative. One should assume that magick is a neutral source that a practitioner can harness for either positive or negative outcomes.
In today's society we should move away from terms such as white/black magick and left/right hand magick. These were used in a way to control the narrative of a practice that people knew very little about. Sounding off this idea no one sells their soul to anyone to be able to perform magick, this is a hollywood sterotype and is in no way how magick works. In fact most practitoners today will tell you that magick is a science that has yet to be proven.
✾ Misconception #2: All magickal practitioners believe in, worship, and work with entities, spirits, deities, etc
As stated before, beings that are created via social constructs are not a part of all practitioners paths. Some magickal practitoners are indeed atheist or just don't want to saturate their practice with outside forces.
These practitioners tend to focus on more earthly or corporeal items such as: herbs, crystals, meditation, therapy, etc. These are tangible items that have a scientific basis for use within a magickal practice. Where as entities, spirits, and deities are more a faith based portion of the practice, and not everyone finds the faith aspect to be worthwhile.
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Druidry is a thriving, nature-based spirituality that has its roots in ancient times. The ancient druids were wise sages, historians, astronomers, diviners, and bards. Modern druidry honors ancient ways by focusing on cultivating creative gifts, healing via nature, and exploring metaphysical aspects of the spirit of the earth. There isn't much that differentiates Druidry from Paganism, however most druid paths are via Celtic beliefs where as Paganism can be from many different belief systems.
Magickal Practices date back thousands of years with roots in herbal medicine. 'Witches' back then were known as wise women, cunning folk, or maybe even just the town/village healer. Doctors, midwives, apothecaries, or any of the people who were sought after for healing or guidance were what would now be deemed 'witches'. Magick is an ancient practice using the land as a resource to help and heal those within a community. Spells are comparable to prayer, yet practitoners add the use of herbs, colors, times of day, and moon cycles to the spell to aid in its intensity and hopefully fruitful outcome. Magickal Practice has no traditional doctorine to follow, a practitoner does what is needed and takes the responsibility for any blowback that may come. In actuality, the word 'witch' is a modern term that is based in wicca and thusly should be shied away from as a referral to oneself unless you are a Wiccan who practices the craft. For this lesson, "witches" will be referred to as practitioners moving forward.
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Imbolc is a Celtic tradition that marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The Celtic pagan holiday falls on February 1st-2nd and heralds the change of the seasons and the shift from the dark days to the sun filled days ahead. This celebration, from information gathered from Irish poetry, dates back to early 10th century. From informaton gleamed the holiday was originally around the veginning of spring and aligned more towards rebirth. However, we can justify this with the meanjng of the word Imbolc. The holiday's name means 'in the belly of the mother' and within the earth at this time sturs the seeds of spring.
Brigid resides over this holiday and was originally worshipped by a class of poets and historians called the Filid. Brigid is a Celtic fire and fertility goddess, daughter of Dagda, lineage of the Tuath du Danann, and deemed one of the most powerful Celtic deities. It is also believed that she is a triple goddess due to the fact that she has two sisters with the same name but they seem to represent different aspects which is very much the summize of most triple deities. As time moved away from paganism Brigid was adopted into Christianity as St. Brigid and was still saint/goddess of dairy maids, cattle, midwives, newborns and nuns.
Per https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/imbolc:
"Brigid appears in the saga Cath Maige Tuired and the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a purported history of Ireland collected from various poems and texts in the 10th century."
"Myths about Brigid’s birth say she was born with a flame in her head and drank the milk of a mystical cow from the spirit world. Brigid is credited with the very first keening, a traditional wailing for the dead practiced at funerals by Irish and Scottish women."
❀ Other Names: 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 please note the celebrations are similar but are vastly different when you look at the details
> Before we adopted the Latin name for our second month, Old English used much more vibrant names to describe the month now known as February. The most common Old English name was Solmonath, which literally means “mud month.” (https://www.dictionary.com/e/february/)
> A lesser-used term was Kale-monath, which meant “cabbage month.” Perhaps, the medieval English were eating a lot of cabbage in February? Strange. (https://www.dictionary.com/e/february/)
Once February became an official month its name was changed. It was derived from the Roman festival of purification called Februa. In funny fashion the festival also gave birth to the Roman deity Februus. What is also interesting to note is that January and February were added months. Originally the calendar year was only 10 months but in 700BCE they were added by the second king of Rome to make the year match up more with how long it takes the Earth to complete it's rotation around the sun.
When we dig deeper into the ideologies from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, as well as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland) we find that there is a split of sorts in religious ideologies. The following are a few of the groupings one may find when digging deeper into this area of practice. (Quotes provided from thetroth.org)
> Heathenry is the preferred general term for someone who practices a reconstructed version of a pre-Christian religion for the Germanic area of Northern Europe. “Heathen” was first used in the Gothic language to mean a “Gentile” and was originally a neutral term meaning someone from a particular region who wasn’t familiar with Jewish or Christian Scripture. This wasn’t a negative or pejorative term until it became a negative thing to not be a Christian.
> The way we use 'Norse Paganism' is not to refer exclusively to the ethnic practices of the pre-Christian Norse peoples (Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, etc); rather, the “Norse” in Norse Paganism refers to the names by which we call the Gods. Most of us refer to the Gods by the names they were called in the Norse languages, and much of our ritual taxonomy is based in the Norse languages.
> Ásatrú is a combination of two words. “Tru” which means “Faith/Trust in” and “Asa” which means “The Gods/Aesir.” Some do not like this term, as they believe it excludes those who place faith and trust in the Vanir (Vanatru) or the Jotnar (Rokkatru or sometimes Thursatru). There is some debate here as to whether or not the “Asa” in “Asa-tru” is truly exclusive in this sense. Someone who worshipped Njord, Skadi and Freyja exclusively could still call themselves “Ásatrú” and most wouldn’t object. In the United States, “Ásatrú” is losing favor as a term because of its usage by Folkish groups. But the term itself is not indicative of white nationalist or folkish beliefs, and internationally it remains a popular general term.
***Please note that within the above ideologies there may be a few outliers, typically within these practices white supremacist tend to hide and morph the gentle beliefs into something that they are not. Be careful of groups that you may join and pay attention to the words that they use or the symbols they may show***
For more information on Heathenry, Norse Paganism, and other forms, please visit thetroth.org.
We aim to provide an inclusive witchcraft and metaphysical educational space. | 127 members
☆ Contemporary Paganism, also known as modern Paganism, is a spiritual path typically rooted in nature worship, the turning of the seasons, astronomical signs, polytheism, and more. Most Pagan practitioners have turned to this way of thinking and worship due to issues within other more strict structured religions. People tend to find peace and comfort within the world of Paganism due to the ideology of everything being connected and not just a construct of a higher being. To be a Pagan does not mean that one is a practitioner of magick, nor does being a practitioner that one is a Pagan. These terms are not synonymous. The Pagans of now tend to follow reconstructed religions or ideologies that came before Christianity. Paganism in this modern era is an umbrella term that encompases many different belief systems, some of which are listed below.
☆ New-Ageism was a movement that spread through the occult and metaphysical religious communities in the 1970s and ʾ80s. It looked forward to a “New Age” of love and light and offered a foretaste of the coming era through personal transformation and healing. Traditional occult practices (e.g., tarot reading, astrology, yoga, meditation techniques, and mediumship) were integrated into the movement as tools to assist personal transformation. By the end of the 80s and the early 90s, New-Ageism lost its momentum. However, this movement did bring about interest with older esoteric groups. New-Ageism is not totally lost and still has its foot in the religious doorway with new shops and ideas popping up in modern times.
☆ Wicca is a new form of spirituality that re-creates some very old practices and ideas. The modern form of Wicca began in the 1950s. It encompasses many ideologies from a vast amount of religions. One of the core beliefs within Wicca is the dual divinity of the God and Goddess. However, not all wiccans honor both the male and female aspects of divinity. Wicca can be considered a type of witchcraft. However, it is important to note that not all wiccans consider themselves witches/practitioners but to be an individual ideology and religion apart from the practice of witchcraft/magick.
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Magick is the practice of skills and abilities such as using spells, incantations, and magickal rituals. Witchcraft or Magickal Practice are broad terms that vary culturally and societally, and thus can be difficult to define with precision.
Early practitioners were people who used magick spells and called upon spirits for help or to bring about change. Most practitioners were thought to be pagans doing the Devil's work. Many, however, were simply natural healers or so-called "wise women" whose choice of profession was misunderstood.
Most people think that magickal practitioners are witches. People also believe that the idea of the witch is a Christian invention. But the idea of the witch who flies in the night and draws power from dark cosmic forces to work her ill will on another pre-dates Christianity, probably by many centuries. Most practitioners today avoid the term witch.
In Homer's Odyssey (c.800 BC), Circe - who turns men into animals - is described as a witch. Illicit magic features heavily in Roman law statutes, some of which are passed down to the Christian world. However, many of those early laws were really laws against sorcery, which, unlike 'witchcraft', can be beneficial and which requires special skills, tools, and words.
Archaeologists have found hundreds of ancient Greek curse tablets, which the Greeks called katares, 'curses that bind tight', and they appear to have invented them, with a great number focused on sporting competitions or legal contests. The inscribed tablets were left in graves, wells, or fountains, where the dead could better work their magick.
The idea of magickal practices spans a broad area of time. It can even be traced back to Mesopotamian eras where the Sumerian people, one of the earliest civilizations, would use dream magick to influence their lives. They would also use symbolic words, images, and rituals to achieve desired outcomes through supernatural means.
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⚝ People are attracted to witchcraft and the occult for the quest to find answers to human needs. They have needs that have to be met, and in meeting these needs, people will turn to anything that will help them to meet those needs. Behavioral psychologists identify, among other needs, the following four: the need to live and not die, the need to protect oneself against enemies, the need to love and to be loved, and the physical needs such as to have food to eat.
⚝ First, the desire to live. No one wants to die. People will resist death or attempt to avoid death at any cost. People in general, if they perceive some threat to their lives, will seek after almost anything that will give them life. If they have grown up knowing that witches have powers to protect them from death, they will go there. However, there is another side to this theory. People also seek to understand death and the here-after. People want a form of comfort even in the knowing that death will come for everyone at some point in time, the question that a lot ask is “Is death the end or is there more after the death of the body?”
⚝ Secondly is the need to protect against enemies. People do not want to be hurt by those who may be more powerful than they are. They also wish to feel safe in a world full of unimaginable terrors. Every day has no exact timeline. Each day, a person wakes up, not knowing what that day holds for him. They may have some vague idea of basics: awaken, eat, go to work, leave, come home, etc. It is the in-between moments that people have no control over. In those moments, they feel out of control, and they turn to the unknown to help alleviate that feeling and give them control over their life through their beliefs.
⚝ Third, the need to love and be loved. Everyone has a need to be related to someone. People do not want to be rejected or fall out of love.. How is the matter of human needs related to witchcraft? In their quest to find answers to their needs, people will go to the source they believe is able and has the power to help them meet those needs. When threatened by sickness and when people can not find answers to their needs elsewhere, they will go back to witchcraft for possible answers. When they fear being destroyed by their enemies, they will seek help from witches to protect them. When they need wealth and they can not find it, they will turn to witches to help supply their needs. Over time, the eventual need turns into a full-blown belief, and that is where modern witchcraft stems from.
We aim to provide an inclusive witchcraft and metaphysical educational space. | 130 members
• The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic, which today are considered pseudosciences. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky.
• The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing such phenomena involving otherworldly agency as mysticism, spirituality, and magic.
• Modern uses for the term has been a substantivized adjective. The occult is now a term that has been particularly widely used among journalists and sociologists. This term was popularized by the publication of Colin Wilson's 1971 book The Occult. The term has been used as an "intellectual waste-basket" into which a wide array of beliefs and practices have been placed because they do not fit readily into the categories of religion or science. According to Hanegraaff, the occult is a category into which gets placed a range of beliefs from spirits or fairies to parapsychological experiments, from UFO-abductions to Oriental mysticism, from vampire legends to channeling, and so on.
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• Paganism is a term first used pejoratively in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism or ethnic religions other than Judaism.
• Neo-Paganism is a modern religious movement incorporating beliefs or practices from outside the main world religions, especially nature worship.
• It is Polytheistic in nature; worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals but can also just be a reverence for nature without any belief in deities.
A Brief Pagan Time-line:
• 300-353 Emperor Constantine orders the pillaging of Pagan Temples in the Roman Empire and begins to ban pagan rituals under threat of death
• 363 to 375 Emperor Julian and his next three successors lead a revival of Paganism in the Roman Empire while also tolerating Christianity.
• 381 Emperor Theodosius begins a war on Paganism. Visits to temples are banned, the sacred fire of Vesta is extinguished, the Olympics are banned, Pagan rituals are banned, and many holy Pagan sites throughout the Roman Empire are destroyed by force.
• 410 Rome is sacked by the Visigoths. Many Romans viewed it as punishment for turning away from the gods.
• 400s to 500s Paganism in the Roman Empire is forced to go underground, Pagan libraries are burnt, and it becomes official policy to hunt down and torture the remaining Pagans. Some Pagan festivals are incorporated in Christianity.
• 600s-1300s Many Pagan Resurgences occur while many nations go under the influence of Christianity
• 1300s to 1700s a series of witchcraft trials sweep through Europe leading to an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 deaths. How the trials relate to Paganism is debated.
• 1492 Christianity is first introduced to the Americas and the African Diaspora soon begins.
• 1780s to 1860s The Romantic Movement emerges in Europe. Its members loved nature and were influenced by folklore and mythology. Several of the Romanticists including Thomas Love Peacock, Thomas Jefferson Hogg, Edward Calvert, and Algernon Swineburne wrote poetry praising the old gods, built altars to Pan, and began to identify as Pagan.
• 1904 Aleister Crowley transcribes The Book of the Law while in Egypt and proclaims the establishment of the “new age” of the Æon of Horus.
• 1910 Rider-Waite tarot deck first published
• 1921 The Witch-Cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray is published and the Witch-Cult Hypothesis is further popularized.
• 1939 Gerald Gardner is initated into the New Forest Coven, and believes it to be ancient.
• 1954 Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner is published and leads to the spread of Wicca.
• 1960s Interest in Paganism and new age philosophy explodes.
• 1980s The Satanic Panic occurs
• 1980s-2000s Neo-Paganism finds a new breath of life and worshipers
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January or winter's second month, gate of the New Year, is the first month of the Gregorian and Julian calendar whose first day marks the beginning of each New Year. January's name comes from the Latin lanuarius and is derived the Roman Deity Janus, God of Gates. Janus had two faces one to look to tbe future and one to look to the past, this made January the best month to name after him. January marks the end of one year that has past and a year that is beginning and full of possibilities.
Deities: Freya (Norse); Innana, Sin and Antu (Sumeria); Saravati (Hindu); Hera and Irene (Greece); Ch’ang-O (China); Felicitas; Janus, Pax and Venus (Rome)
Animals: fox, coyote
Birds: pheasant, blue jay
Celebrations: New Years Day (Jan 1st), Hogmanay (Jan 1st), St. Agnes' Eve (Jan 20th)
January 25th is the first full moon after Yule and the New Year. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the names for full moons come from a number of places, including Native American groups, colonial Americans or other traditional North American names passed down through generations. This moon is typically known as the Wolf Moon, believed to be derived from Celtic and Old English origins. So, why the Wolf Moon, mainly due to the fact that wolves tend to howl more often in the winter months.
Other Names for the Full Moon in January:
• Center Moon (Assiniboine)
• Cold Moon (Cree)
• Frost Exploding Moon (Cree)
• Great Moon (Cree)
• Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin)
• Severe Moon (Dakota)
• Hard Moon (Dakota)
• Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit)
• Greeting Moon (Western Abenaki)
• Spirit Moon (Ojibwe)
This year the Wolf Moon occurs in the sign of Leo. It is a powerful time to embrace your passions and let go of people or things you are not in tune with. During this full moon you should be able to find the areas within your life that need you focus, maybe take the time to do a tarot spread to ask what areas are lacking the attention they need. When doing the spread focus on the meanings that reach to your heart and not your mind, Leo energy often focuses on truths of the heart.
You may feel strong emotions pulling you in one direction, do not over think. Allow your emotions to guide you during this time, it may be a leap of faith but it is one that is needed. This road you travel may feel messy or illogical but hold strong and know that through chaos comes clarity. Leo teaches us to show up for ourselves with courage and strength. It reminds us that we can face anything within ourselves, not just the good, with love and compassion.
Take sometime to meditate over the next three days with a focus on listening to your heart, try to block out the mind during these moments (which can be difficult). Find a candle or incense that brings your heart joy. Listen to a soft song that calls to your heart. Set your intention out loud by saying something along the lines of "I block the thoughts that flow from my mind and allow the feelings to flow from my heart that I often push aside". Repeating this allows you a focal point to put your energy into during your meditation. Once the session is complete write EVERYTHING you felt down. Then over the next few days decipher why it was you felt these things.
Another action you can take during this full moon is bathing ritual to aide in self-love. Leo is perfect to bring out unconditional self-love. Take time to look at yourself in the mirror, do NOT focus on the things you see as negatives but say aloud each thing you find to be amazing about yourself, whether physical or mental. Then set up a shower or bath with some candles, a mesh bag of herbs that correlate to self-love (rose buds/petals, apple, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, etc), some soft meditatice music and allow the water to wash away the faults that you see in yourself. When you step out of the shower or bath be renewed and know that you are capable of so much more than what your mind allows you to believe.
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