Under the Waning Moon

A blog for Australian and Southern Hemisphere witches, pagans, and lovers of Earth's mysteries.

[underthewaningmoon]

[underthewaningmoon]

Hi! This is a very random question but I am currently working on a project, where I among other things have to analyse and find symbols in a text. In this text the cockatoo bird was mentioned repeatedly and so I though that I would do some research on what the bird symbolized. So far your blog has given me the best and most detailed answer to the question about the cockatoo but since I have to be very precise about all my sources I would like to know if you got your info from a specific place?:)

Hi! Sorry it's taken me a while to answer you :)

Much of what I write is based on personal experience. I'm lucky that I can observe these wonderful birds in person have a flock of cockies that live in my valley. They are always playing games in our trees and on our deck. 

To strengthen my observations and to help develop my correspondences further, I have referred to Australian Aboriginal legend for confirmation. When I did this, I remembered a few of these stories from my childhood - amazing how you can remember things deep in your memory!

These stories may help you out some more:

*The Birth of the Butterflies 

*How Fire was Stolen from the Red Crested Cockatoo

* Baiame creates the first man and woman - The pointers in the Souther Cross are the two white cockatoos in the Australian Aboriginal creation myth. 

These stories help tell us that the cockatoo is smart, cheeky, loves fun, and is an important bird of spirit. 

[underthewaningmoon]

Offerings for Horus

Recently at a yoga class, I bowed my head... to feel a giant golden eagle spread his wings across my back and lift his head to lend me his eyes. I saw the desert, with a river bounded by green.

This was my first encounter with Horus. 

 (by ronniedie_vu06)

Horus is the son of Isis, one of my patron goddesses, and Osiris.

My teacher challenged my at the beginning of the year to step into my role as a leader. I feel that Horus is helping me with perspective, strength, and focus. I also feel that he is offering me protection as my life journey is changing at a rapid pace. 

I feel I need to make him an offering!

Here is a great guide to offerings to Egyptian deity, in a general sense. 

I will honour him with a dark ale and white feather to represent ma'at. 

[underthewaningmoon]

30% off wands!

I'm having a sale in my etsy store to spread some holiday love. Code is yule30. Enjoy!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/UndertheWaningMoon?ref=si_shop

[underthewaningmoon]

Hey there! I'm really getting into crystal healing/magick/grids/etc, and I was wondering if you knew of any good sites and books to learn more about these things. I have The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall with the metaphysical definitions of each stone, but I don't really know how to use/apply their powers other than simply holding them and keeping them in my pocket. All that I can find are about cleansing and programming, but not much else :c

You’ve done a lot of reading, which is awesome. The more knowledge you can glean from the experience of others, the more able you are to cherry pick what best suits your own experiences. I have not found a book which I really love. The shimmerlings website is my first port of call, then I will do my own research.

For me, crystals are another form of energy. The stuff stuff as we are, and a different physical form (have a read of my pasts posts on tantra for more info). With that in mind, I try to unlock that vibration/energy for my own use. 

We all experience things differently. Our preferences for tastes and smell, even fashion, differentiate us from others. Don’t feel that what you read about spiritual matters is the be-all and end-all! In this respect, getting to know the crystals you wish to work with will help you unlock their power and find how they can be helpful for you. Try this mediation as your first step.

From my experience:

* like helps like - quartzes help each other, as do feldspars etc. 

*look into the geology of a stone, as understanding its history will help you understand its energy and use. 

*use pendulums to test your grids and crystals for confirmation that the energy is where you feel it.

*crystals (especially grids) are great to charge objects and create sacred space. Your work areas, sleep areas, and even the boundaries of your properties.

*the more I tune in, the less I need to program my stones.

I’ve never made an elixir from crystals, but you might find that fun.

You’ll get hit by a bolt of inspiration when the right application for crystals arises. Remember to have fun :)

[underthewaningmoon]

Make your own honey salve

Modern medicine is utterly amazing. But there is still so much about ancient remedies that we are still nutting out.

I have had a terrible bout of dermatitis on my eyelids from being run down. Seriously, looking like a frog from the swelling and I do not want to see anyone at the moment!

My dermatologist practically had a conniption when I told him I moisturise with coconut or argan oil (on your face!! But that's for eating!!) and told me to use sorbolene instead. Which is full of parabens and mineral oils. Not face or earth friendly.

The antibiotic creams have all stopped working for me, and I can't (and won't) take general antibiotics whilst still breastfeeding. I'm not so sure that a broad range antibiotic is a good idea for a face rash anyway. 

So, running out of options, my local naturopathica suggested this cream. And the results have been nothing short of amazing. Two days later, the swelling is nearly gone, the redness and peeling pretty much gone. My eyelashes are even thickening up!

It is sticky and thick, but it does really work!!

The recipe is simple 

Olive oil, raw honey, and beeswax. All in equal parts. 

These three ingredients have been harvested, valued, traded and treasured as a source of wealth from antiquity to the present. 

How does it work, I hear you ask?

Olive oil. Full of vitamins A, D, E and K, olive oil nourishes the skin for fast healing.

Raw, all-natural honey. Raw honey provides the base of this ointment and is a well-known antibacterial agent. Honey is also highly nourishing, often reducing the risk for infection and scarring.

Beeswax.  Beeswax is a biologically active product obtaining high bactericidal properties retained even after technological processing. 

If you are interested in more science-y stuff - there is a study here which discusses the results of this ointment. 

The method is also simple - melt your beeswax in a double boiler, then stir in the other ingredients. Let it set.

The witchy bit? As you stir, imbibe your potion with healing energy. Perhaps call upon Isis, Asclepius, or Hygieia to assist you. I also added a little frankincense resin to my balm for extra inflammation busting powers and purification of the negative energy I have built up around this condition. 

[underthewaningmoon]

Hello! :~) I was wondering, what can you tell me about my sun and moon signs? I was born on the 15th of August, 1993 at 7:56am in Melbourne.

Hi!

Your Sun and Moon signs will found by looking at your astrological chart and seeing where those bodies are at your time of birth. Think of it being like a large clock, and the planets being at different hours of the clock. The ‘hour’ placement will give you a sign, and you read that sign together with the correspondences of the planet. 

The first step for discovering your correspondences is to write down what comes into your mind when you are interpreting your subject.

SUN SIGN

When I think of the Sun, I think of: masculine, direct, outward moving, bright, warm, happy. So your Sun sign is the sign your show on the outside, to other people. If someone you had just met had to describe you, just seen your first light, they would probably describe you in words associated with your Sun sign. 

In your chart, the Sun is in Leo.

Leo is the lion sign. What do you think of when you think of a lion? I think of the great mane, family and ‘pride’ (excuse my pun!), the roar, direction, top of the food chain. 

Unsurprisingly, the planet which rules Leo is the Sun. As your Sun sign is in Leo, the planetary influence is very strong here.

If you have a look at your Sun icon (the circle with the dot in the middle), you can see that it is sitting in the last third of Leo. Not many people know that each Sun sign is also divided into three parts called ‘decans’. This means that your sun sign is also partly influenced by Mars. This planet lends you a bit of a feisty attitude. 

MOON SIGN

When I think of the Moon, I think of: water, emotion, ebb and flow, introversion, femininity. Your moon sign describes how you are on the inside. Someone who knows you really well might use words associated with your Moon sign to describe you. It's about what you need to feel comfortable, and how you react emotionally. I also call someone's moon sign their natural emotional state - how they just 'are' emotionally.

Your Moon sign is in Cancer. The ruling planet of Cancer is the Moon, which again lends a strong influence in this aspect.

Someone with their Moon in Cancer will have strong emotions, and if your passions are ignited you go with your gut. The Cancerian influence also means that family and the familiar are important, rushing is not fun, and big changes in the weather can affect your emotions.

Your Moon sign is in the second decan, so Pluto has a little influence on your Moon sign as well. Pluto loves mystery and hidden things (think of the Roman God called Pluto, ruler of the underworlds), the psychic and imagination. You keep your true and deepest emotions to yourself, but have strong instincts that often turn our to be correct.

And all together this means…

You have strong pulls in two opposite directions in your chart. Do you feel conflicted sometimes, between what people expect from you and what you’d really like to do? Do you bite and then think, “oh crap. Shot my mouth off!” You have so much passion and love in you, and that is a wonderful thing! You’re an independent soul, though sometimes you wish you weren’t so.

The inside you and the outside you are equally as strong, and can seem at times to need totally different things: the party or the book at home? A sleep in or a run? Each activity will nourish a different part of you.

This lifetime will be about finding balance: inside you and outside you, family wants against personal wants, creative vs analytical. You know deep down what you need, and part of this journey will be expressing it. Are you an artist of some kind?

Keep looking into your chart. The houses in which these two planets sit will give you more clues (your Moon is in the 11th house and Sun in the 12th), as will your chart shape. Your rising sign has a lot of influence as to how others perceive you, for example. 

Astro.com is a free engine to use - just pop in your details and off you go. There is a clickable map in there somewhere, where you can click on the various aspects can be clicked and you can read about them in detail.

It’s fascinating stuff! But always remember that just because the stars were aligned in a particular way for you birth does not mean that you are fated to be a particular way. Use these insights to grow and remember that you are the holder of the key to your own destiny.

[underthewaningmoon]

Goddess and Gods to call upon in childbirth or pregnancy

Below is a picture of my bubba, now 12 weeks old.

Giving birth is acting as a gateway for your baby, and deities of gateways are particularly useful assistants. There are many goddesses of childbirth and pregnancy, and but a few are listed below in no particular order. Don't be afraid to call upon a male deity to assist - the dance of life requires both male and female energies!

Egyptian (Heka)

Isis and Nepthys (as goddesses of midwifery), Sobek (fertility goddess), Osiris (god of transitions and gateways).

Greek

Hekate (as psychopomp and midwife), Artemis (as midwife), Athena (for strength and perseverance), Zeus (as a father many times over, for strength), Demeter and Persephone (the cycles, coming through gateways), Hades (for movement from one realm to the next).

Mesopotamian

Asarte/Ishatar (strength, fertility)

Hindu

Kali Ma (the strong mother, devourer of demons), Durga (as mother), Ganesha (remover of obstacles), Hanuman (as one of great faith).

Norse

Odin (as psychopomp, the all-father), Freya (fertility and strength), Frigg (marriage and partnership, childbirth)

Celtic

Brigid (fertility), Cernunnos (growth, change, fertility).

Mayan

Ixchel (panther goddess of fertility and flowing waters - a great one for when waters are about to break!).

[underthewaningmoon]

Flourite

Fluorite helps to ground excessive energy, particularly mental, emotional and nervous energy. It is a powerful healer, it affects all the chakras as well as mental attitudes. It is excellent for use in cleansing the aura...it is known to ride the aura of cording (unwanted attached energy lines from other people). It aids channeling and communications  with Nature spirits, faeries, elves and other fae folk. Use with other stones to amplify their effects, especially if you are working towards spiritual wholeness and development, truth and peace.

Purple Flourite: Aids ability to meditate, increases psychic development, brings spiritual peace and wholeness. As we develop spiritually, we come to a place in our journey where we need to make a commitment; Fluorite will help you to decide if you are indeed ready to make this important commitment. For some, purple fluorite will help them to begin channeling information that is crucial to further their spiritual development. This stone is more than a ‘mental’ stone, it also radiates energy throughout the light body system. Physically, purple fluorite is helpful in promoting a state of health for the skin, bones and muscular system.

[underthewaningmoon]

Creating a seasonal altar

Apologies for the scarcity of posts recently - I had a bubba five weeks ago and time evaporates these days!

The wheel of the year has turned once more. Here the leaves of the few deciduous trees are red and brown, mornings are darker and the Moon bigger.

To celebrate and honour the change of seasons I have created an altar in our living room. It's only part done at the moment.

I have little leaves, elves, and beads in autumnal colours on the left half. 

I plan to hang icicles and snowflakes on the tree as the weather becomes colder. I also hope to enliven my decorations with ritual for each season. I hope to teach our daughter about the change of seasons and the Wheel of the Year by redecorating our altar at each festival.

How do you dress your altar for the seasons?

[fuckyeahpaganism]

Reblog if you post anything pagan, occult, witchcraft related!!

Don’t be shy, tell tumblr hello~~

[underthewaningmoon]

Astral travel and pregnancy

I so love this photo of our little family!

I have a bit of a problem with astral travel whilst sleeping. I have no control over that 'pull' and sometimes bring back all sorts of nasty things with me. I tend to travel most when I am stressed or in an unfamiliar environment. Not very fun! 

But I haven't travelled at all whilst pregnant. And it has been a pleasant relief! 

I discussed this with another witch yesterday and apparently this is quite common. There is something that happens to our energy during pregnancy to make sure we stay 'here'. Perhaps this is why I have not felt like doing trance work. 

She also said that it is a blessing to have a pregnant woman in your circle as they are so immediately and powerfully plugged in. Whilst one could argue it is due to larger mass (Oh, I feel it today!) I certainly do feel more able to ground my energies. 

If you have trouble with astral travel while sleeping, try this grid which I set up when I am not at home. 

[underthewaningmoon]

[underthewaningmoon]

Book Review - Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton

First up, I need to declare my love for the Tantric perspective. I love that it teaches that our earthly experience is a dance with the Divine, and that the masculine and feminine are both celebrated in their differences.

This latest offering by Sally Kempton is fantastic. Usually, I'll leave a review until I get to the end of a book but I'm writing this early for two reasons: Loving it! and I'm 37 weeks pregnant and about to pop which means I could forget to post about it at all!

Awakening Shakti, from a pagan/witch point of view, is a great handbook  on how to meet and work with 13 goddesses from the Indian pantheon. Sally Kempton has written so beautifully from the Tantric perspective of her experiences with goddess energy being a real and tangible dialogue, and of the absolute ecstasy those interactions have given her.

Sally is a very trusted writer on this area and on meditations (if you read Yoga Journal, you'll likely have read many pieces by Sally) and she has a way of writing that really helps to connect. 

I'm very excited to use her methods to get to know these goddesses better or meet them for the first time. 

This is a great read for practitioners of all levels, whether you simply want to get to know goddess energy better or get to know specific Hindu goddesses.

[underthewaningmoon]

A bit of wow from Mother Nature - The leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) is amazingly camouflaged.

Found only in Madagascar, they're under serious threat from the illegal pet trade.

[underthewaningmoon]

Happy Equinox!

It's the Equinox right now; that time of year where the days and nights are equal. This is a stillpoint for me. Like a pendulum comes to stillness just for a moment before it swings in the other direction and like the breath hovers in full expression of an inhalation or an exhalation (which I have written about in more detail here), Equinox is a time of consolidation before movement in the next direction.

For me, it was my last day of work before taking maternity leave. It was also a glorious and sunshiney day before today's downpour which will last a week. Talk about change!

In the South, it is Mabon for us. Persephone is beginning her descent into the underworlds, symbolising the retreat and consolidation of fertility to the deep Earth. The weather becomes more mild than hot and the summer fruits end their season. Goodbye, dear nectarines. We recognise all that the Earth has given to us over the harvest seasons, and share that bounty with those around us. We've received pears and tomatoes from neighbours and repaid that in mint, verbena, basil, and eggs from the girls.

In the North, it is Ostara. The Spring is beginning to warm the Earth and she remembers her fertility. Persephone returns to Demeter, and that joy and abundance spreads to feed the plants and animals. 

In each hemisphere, take the time to recognise and thank the season past for its blessings and gifts before racing off the dark of winter or brightness of summer. 

Take the time to meditate on your action for the coming season and plant those seeds in this stillness, feeling the great potential that is building. Imagine the great pendulum of the seasons carrying your intentions into fruit.

[underthewaningmoon]

The soul of an animal

A friend of mine recently lost her elderly puppy (they are always puppies to me!) to a long suffered illness. The photo above is of my mad dog AKA Bandito Crotcheater, AKA Fartacus, but best known as Radley.

One thing that kept popping up is this concept of the 'rainbow bridge'. When it comes to animals and their energy and divinity, I don't feel any differently than I do toward human beings. I believe we are all expressions of the divine. This quote from Rumi sums it up for me:

The lamps are different, but the Light is the same: it comes from Beyond.  If thou keep looking at the lamp, thou art lost: for thence arises the appearance of number and plurality.  Fix thy gaze upon the Light, and thou art delivered from the dualism inherent in the finite body…The Faithful are many, but their Faith is one; their bodies are numerous, but their soul is one.

I know he means to describe how we should not discriminate based on faith and spirituality, but for me there is a deeper message in there - look at the light. I see that light when I look into Radley's beady black eyes. And when I give the chooks something they really love - do they come alive with a bit of crazy! Watching a lizard wait for water from my hose when I water the garden, I see light in there too. 

The rainbow bridge is a new age device which puts animals into a different 'heaven' to human beings. As my friend and teacher put it - the rainbow bridge concept means that they need to wait outside heaven for us, but my dog was never an outside dog so she will not be waiting outside heaven for me! 

We pagans know just how much animals have to offer us in spiritual learnings. They are used as totems, guides, messengers, omens... their energies are harnessed for magical workings and as a familiar they can support our practice. They each have their own special contribution to make. My pup often takes a shine to certain crystals and I often find them in his kennel. I take it that those ones are the most special!

I know that when my energy changes form on death that I will be greeted by my puppy companions who have chosen to wait for me. And not outside 'heaven'. Mine have always been inside dogs, too!