JULY CALENDAR

 

Leanin Tree Greeting Card, Art by Michael Matherly

1^st - Death of Nostradamus, 1566.

2^nd - Festival of pregnant women celebrated in ancient Rome. Trial of Joan Prentice who was accused of sending an imp in the form of a ferret to bait children, 1549.

3^rd - Festival of Cerridwen, Celtic Fertility Goddess. The day sacred to Egyptian Supreme Goddess Isis, the Greek War Goddess Athena and the Witch of Gaeta in Italy. Beginning of Dog Days. The ‘Dog days’ are defined as the period from July 3^rd through to August 11^th when the Dog Star, Sirius rises in conjunction or nearly so with the sun.

4^th - Independence Day, America.

5^th - Conviction of Witches at the Chelmsford Trials, 1589. Sun Dance festival, Native American Indian. Sacred to Maat, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Justice.

6^th - Scott Cunningham initiated into the Ancient Pictish Gaelic Way, 1981.

7^th - Feast of Juno, Queen of the Roman Gods. The feast is also known as Nonae Capritinae or ‘The Nones of the Wild Fig.’ Celtic Tree month of Oak ends.

8^th- Celtic tree month of Holly begins.

9^th - Birthday of Amber K, Wiccan author. Festival for Unnr the Deep-Minded, Teutonic. Death of Herman Slater, proprietor of the store, Magickal Childe in New York, 1992.

10^th - Day of Hel, the Norse Goddess of the Underworld.

11^th - Feast of Min, Egyptian God of fertility. An ancient God that dates back to Predynastic times.

12^th- Julius Caesar born 100BC, Rome, Italy. Assassinated 15^th March 44BC, Rome, Italy.

13^th - Birthday of Dr John Dee, Magician 1527. An English astronomer, astrologer, occult philosopher, mathematician and advisor to Queen Elizabeth. (Henry the VIII’s daughter by Anne Boleyn) Birthday of Ra, Egyptian God of the Sun and King of Gods.

14^th - First recorded appearance of crop circles recorded on Silsbury Hill, England, 1988.

Birthday of Osiris, Egyptian Lord of the Underworld, Judge of the dead and brother/husband to Isis. Birth of the Egyptian Sky and Sun God, Horus.

15^th - Birthday of Raumi, Finnish Goddess of the Rowan Tree.

16^th - Birthday of Set (Seth) Egyptian God of deserts, disorder, storms and violence.

17^th - Birthday of Isis, Egyptian Mother Goddess.

18^th - Birthday of Nephthys, Egyptian Goddess of Death.

19^th - Sacred to Venus and Adonis, Roman. Marriage of the Egyptian God Osiris and Goddess Isis is celebrated. Rebecca Nurse of Salem, Massachusetts hanged in 1692 for witchcraft.

20^th – Lord Hunterford executed in England for treason for consulting Mother Roche, a Witch and speculating on the Kings death, 1540.

22^nd - North Hampshire Witches condemned, 1612.

25^th – Death of Pope Innocent III who issued famous anti-witchcraft bull Summis Desiderantes Affectibus, 1492.      

26^th - Pueblo Buffalo and Corn Dances, Native American. Confession of witches at first of four major witch trials in Chelmsford, England 1566.

27^th - Jennet Preston becomes the first of the Malkin Tower Witches to be hanged, 1612.

28^th - Domhnach Chrom Dubh, Irish Grain God Festival. Sacred to the Norse God of Sky and Thunder, Thor. Festival of the Egyptian Goddess of weaving, Hedjihotep.

29^th - Agnes Waterhouse, accused of having a spotted cat Familiar named Sathan is hanged, 1566. International Global Tiger Day.

31^st - Lithasblot. Norse harvest festival. Usually held July 31^st – August 1^st.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky born, 1831. Some say she was born August 12^th 1831. Birthday of Harry Potter author, J.K Rowling, born 1965, Yate, UK.

 

THE WOLF MOON

The Moon after the Winter Solstice/Yule is called the Wolf Moon or sometimes known as the Old Moon although possibly Bleak Moon may be more appropriate, a time of our deepest winter. The name is attributed to when our ancestors would hear the howling of the wolves and see them beginning to venture out of their dens in search of food as they were driven by hunger. Call on the Wolves energies for their teachings and how to use our instincts wisely. 

We think of the ‘Wolf’ new moon as the pup being born and as the moon grows, so too does he/she. The waxing moon is when he/she is a young pup and venturing away from the mother, by the full moon they are fully grown and ready to mate and take their claim possibly as the alpha male or female. As the moon begins to wane we see them becoming the older and wiser wolf and sometimes taking time away from the pack and as the moon fully wanes and is absent from our skies, we see the wolf emerge into spirit and walk with his ancestral wolf pack. However as we know wolves of course have longer than a moons cycle and can live in the wild from 6 and sometimes up to 13 years depending of course on their life, food availability, steering clear of fights in which they may be harmed and free from trappers and in captivity Wolves have lived up to 17 years. But from a ‘Moonology’ view we see the wolf in his various stages of birth, life and death.

To honour these wonderful animals and upon the moon in their name set up an altar that includes a crystal ball for the moon and various wolf ornaments or pictures. Perhaps you have a soft toy that steps in as your wolf familiar when an actual wolf is not available. A plate of food could also be left out to help them quench their hunger, I will leave the idea as to what foods you could include up to you but for a herbal option, wolf berries are a good choice. Wolf berries you say, yes also known as the Goji berry, Lycium barbarum.

 

MOON PHASES

Thursday 7th - FIRST QUARTER MOON. Rising at Noon and setting at Midnight, the Moon is 90-135 degrees ahead of the Sun. Light and dark are in equal balance. Consolidate and give form to projects. Be creative and deal with any challenges that may arise.

Thiursday 14th - FULL MOON. The Earth is between the Sun and Moon. The Moon, rising at sunset and setting at dawn, is 180-135 degrees behind the Sun. The Full Moon is the time to celebrate the complete.

Thursday 21st - LAST QUARTER MOON. Time to clear out anything that hasn´t worked or isn´t needed. Rising at midnight and setting at noon, this Moon is 90-45 degrees behind the Sun. Time to clear out anything that hasn’t worked or isn’t needed.

Friday 29th - NEW MOON. Start new projects. A time to plan and prepare especially if it is so cold outdoors and one just wants to curl up in front of the fire or heater. Think about what has been and what you would like to change and do in your future. New job, moving house, new relationship or perhaps a new life is coming into the family be it kith, kin, fur or fin. An ideal time to write up notes, fill in your book of shadows, journals and herbal grimoires as we work under the phase of the moon.

APOGEE AND PERIGEE  From timeanddate.com The Moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle, but elliptical, with one side closer to Earth than the other. As a result, the distance between the Moon and Earth varies throughout the month and the year. On average, the distance is about 382,900 kilometers (238,000 miles). The point on the Moon's orbit closest to Earth is called the Perigee and the point farthest away is the Apogee. 

Apogee (Furthest away from the earth) - Tuesday 26th

Perigee (Closest to the earth) - Wednesday 13th

 

THE JULY STAR SIGNS

CANCER - June 23rd - July 22nd. Symbol – The Crab, Element – Water, Planet – The Moon, Quality – Cardinal, Personal Creed- I feel, Negative/Feminine sign
The home-makers of the Zodiac, Cancerians are known as guardians of the Hearth and Home.

Some of the Cancerians in history. Edward VIII, Pamela Andersen, Kathy Bates, Robert the Bruce, Julius Caesar, John Dillinger, Eva Green, Tom Hanks, Ernest Hemingway, Edmund Hillary, Helen Keller, Cindy Lauper, Nelson Mandala, Meryl Streep, Princess Diana, Liv Tyler, Natalie Wood.

LEO - July 23rd – August 23rd.  Symbol – The Lion, Element – Fire, Planet – The Sun, Quality – Fixed, Personal Creed- I will, Positive/Masculine Sign.
The Lion, King of the Beasts, links with royal nobility and ruled by the Sun, the brightest star in the universe.

Some of the Leo’s. Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred Tennyson, Amelia Earhart, Andy Warhol, Arnold Schwarzenegger,  Benito Mussolini, Bill Clinton,  Carl Jung,  Davey Crockett, Edain McCoy, Emily Bronte, Fidel Castro, George Bernard Shaw, Henry Ford, Hulk Hogan, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jennifer Lopez, Lucille Ball, Madonna the singer, Mae West, Mata Hari, Mick Jagger, Napolean Bonaparte, Neil Armstrong, Nerys M, Nicole W, Pam T, Peter O’Toole,  Queen Mother, Raymond Buckland, Robert De Niro, Rowan of Wycksted, Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Yves St Laurent.

 

CELTIC LUNAR TREE

The Celtic Tree calendar is based on thirteen lunar divisions. Each division has a sacred tree assigned to it that were said to have been chosen by ancient Druids. The trees rich in history and folk lore have many magickal energies associated to them. Please note that the Celtic Tree calendar was written from the Northern Hemisphere.