Moon Facts and myths By: BarbieQueen / Knowledgeable
Post # 2 Aug 10, 2009
The moon in the terms of distance is one of the closest body to earth animals and humans can see it in the sky for three weeks out of four. In addition the moon has tons of legends and myths associated and its cycles.
The word lunatic comes from the Latin luna, because it was believed that people were more likely to exhibit strange behavior during a full moon. Although studies have been done showing that emergency room visits and accidents are increased during the full moon period, there has yet to be conclusive evidence for its cause.
The moon seems to have an effect on animals as well as people. A Florida expert on animal behavior reports that hamsters spin in their wheels far more aggressively during the moon's full phase. Deer and other herbivores in the wild tend to ovulate at the full moon, and in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the full moon is mating time for coral.
There is a British legend that if Christmas fell on the day of a dark Moon, the following year's harvest would be a bountiful one. Some parts of the British Isles believed that a waxing moon on Christmas meant a good crop the next fall, but a waning moon indicated a bad one would come.
Some people believe that the fifth day after a full moon is the perfect time to try to conceive a child.
In some Native American legends, the moon is held captive by a hostile tribe. A pair of antelope hope to rescue the moon and take it the village of a good tribe, but Coyote, the trickster, interferes. The antelope chase Coyote, who tosses the moon into a river each night, just out of reach of the antelope.
The night of the full moon is believed to be a good time for divination and scrying.
Alignak: In the legends of the Inuit peoples, Alignak is the god of both the moon and weather. He controls the tides, and presides over both earthquakes and eclipses. In some stories, he is also responsible for returning the souls of the dead to earth so that they may be reborn. Alignak may appear in harbors to protect fishermen from Sedna, the wrathful sea goddess.
Artemis: is the Greek goddess of the hunt. Because her twin brother, Apollo, was associated with the Sun, Artemis gradually became connected to the moon in the post-Classical world. During the ancient Greek period, although Artemis was represented as a lunar goddess, she was never portrayed as the moon itself. Typically, in post-Classical artwork, she is depicted beside a crescent moon. She is often associated with the Roman Diana as well.
Cerridwen: Is the in Celtic mythology, the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge. She is the giver of wisdom and inspiration, and as such is often associated with the moon and the intuitive process. As a goddess of the Underworld, Cerridwen is often symbolized by a white sow, which represents both her fecundity and fertility and her strength as a mother. She is both Mother and Crone; many modern Pagans honor Cerridwen for her close association to the full moon.
Coyolxauhqui: In Aztec stories, Coyolxauhqui was the sister of the god Huitzilopochtli. She died when her brother leapt from their mothers womb and killed all of his siblings. Huitzilopochtli cut off Coyolxauhquis head and threw it up into the sky, where it remains today as the moon. She is typically depicted as a young and beautiful woman, adorned with bells and decorated with lunar symbols.
Diana: Much like the Greek Artemis, Diana began as a goddess of the hunt who later evolved into a lunar goddess. In Charles Leland's Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, he pays homage to Diana Lucifera (Diana of the light) in her aspect as a light-bearing goddess of the moon.
Selene was the sister of Helios, the Greek sun god. Tribute was paid to her on the days of the full moon. Like many Greek goddesses, she had a number of different aspects. At one point she was worshipped as Phoebe, the huntress, and later was identified with Artemis. Her lover was a young shepherd prince named Endymion, who was granted immortality by Zeus- however, he was also granted eternal slumber, so all that immortality and eternal youth was wasted on Endymion. The shepherd was doomed to sleeping in a cave forever, so Selene descended from the sky every night to sleep beside him. Unlike most other lunar goddesses of Greece, Selene is the only one who is actually portrayed as the moon incarnate by the early classical poets.
Sina is one of the best-known Polynesian deities. She resides within the moon itself, and is the protector of those who might travel at night. Originally, she lived on earth, but got tired of the way her husband and family treated her. So, she packed up her belongings and left to go live in the moon, according to Hawaiian legend. In Tahiti, the story goes that Sina, or Hina, simply got curious about what it was like on the moon, and so paddled her magical canoe until she got there. Once she had arrived, she was struck by the moon's tranquil beauty and decided to stay.
Thoth was an Egyptian god of magic and wisdom, and appears in a few legends as the god who weighs the souls of the dead, although many other stories assign that job to Anubis. Because Thoth is a lunar deity, he is often portrayed wearing a crescent on his head. He is closely associated with Seshat, a goddess of writing and wisdom, who is known as the scribe of the divine.
cycles of the moon By: BarbieQueen / Knowledgeable
Post # 4 Aug 10, 2009
cycles of the moon and magick.
The Waxing Moon
The waxing moon is the period during which the moon grows from dark to full. It takes approximately fourteen days for this to happen. In many magical traditions, people use this time of the moon to perform "positive" magic -- in other words, magic that draws things to you, or increases things. Some examples would include
money spell
working to get a new job or home
Bringing love into one's life
Any magic related to increasing material items
The full moon is the point at which we can see an entire side of the moon. For magical purposes, most Wiccans and Pagans consider the full moon to include the day before and the day after a full moon, for a total of three days. If your tradition requires you to follow the phases of the moon for your magical workings, this is a good time to do rituals focused on personal growth and spiritual development. Some examples would include:
Most spells or rituals work during the full moon.
Spells related to increasing your intuitive awareness
Healing magic
Rituals that connect you closely with deity, such as Drawing Down the Moon
Any magic related to developing your magical skills
For many Wiccans and Pagans, this is also a time to celebrate with an Esbat ritual.
The new moon is sometimes tricky to work with because you can't always see it during this phase - it will appear as a very faint crescent of silver low on the horizon, if you can see it at all. For approximately three days during each lunar cycle, after the moon has waned, it goes dark before waxing again. In many magical traditions, this is considered a fallow time, in which one rests and rejuvenates before beginning more intense magical workings again. In other traditions, it's a time to do magic related to wish fulfillment. Some examples might include:
Cleansing and purifying of the body and mind
Rituals that designate sacred space
Any magic related to inner harmony and peace
The waning moon is the period during which the moon goes from full to dark once again. Like the waxing moon phase, it lasts approximately two weeks. In many traditions of Wicca and Paganism, this time of the month is used to do baneful magic -- that which sends away, gets rid of or destroys things you no longer wish to be burdened by. Some examples would include:
Magic to eliminate negative or toxic people from your life
Workings to smoothly end a relationship or job
Rituals that banish bad habits
Any magic related to reducing things, such as debt, illness, etc
cycles of the moon By: BarbieQueen / Knowledgeable
Post # 5 Aug 10, 2009
cycles of the moon and magick.
The Waxing Moon
The waxing moon is the period during which the moon grows from dark to full. It takes approximately fourteen days for this to happen. In many magical traditions, people use this time of the moon to perform "positive" magic -- in other words, magic that draws things to you, or increases things. Some examples would include
money spell
working to get a new job or home
Bringing love into one's life
Any magic related to increasing material items
The full moon is the point at which we can see an entire side of the moon. For magical purposes, most Wiccans and Pagans consider the full moon to include the day before and the day after a full moon, for a total of three days. If your tradition requires you to follow the phases of the moon for your magical workings, this is a good time to do rituals focused on personal growth and spiritual development. Some examples would include:
Most spells or rituals work during the full moon.
Spells related to increasing your intuitive awareness
Healing magic
Rituals that connect you closely with deity, such as Drawing Down the Moon
Any magic related to developing your magical skills
For many Wiccans and Pagans, this is also a time to celebrate with an Esbat ritual.
The new moon is sometimes tricky to work with because you can't always see it during this phase - it will appear as a very faint crescent of silver low on the horizon, if you can see it at all. For approximately three days during each lunar cycle, after the moon has waned, it goes dark before waxing again. In many magical traditions, this is considered a fallow time, in which one rests and rejuvenates before beginning more intense magical workings again. In other traditions, it's a time to do magic related to wish fulfillment. Some examples might include:
Cleansing and purifying of the body and mind
Rituals that designate sacred space
Any magic related to inner harmony and peace
The waning moon is the period during which the moon goes from full to dark once again. Like the waxing moon phase, it lasts approximately two weeks. In many traditions of Wicca and Paganism, this time of the month is used to do baneful magic -- that which sends away, gets rid of or destroys things you no longer wish to be burdened by. Some examples would include:
Magic to eliminate negative or toxic people from your life
Workings to smoothly end a relationship or job
Rituals that banish bad habits
Any magic related to reducing things, such as debt, illness, etc
