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Thursday, October 1, 2015

October


Winterfyllith                                                                  EctEber

October is the tenth month of the year. The month kept its original name from the Roman calendar in which octo means “eight” in Latin, marking it the eighth month of the year. October was named during a time when the calendar year began with March, which is why its name no longer corresponds with its placement in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. October's birth flower is the marigold. The birthstone is the tourmaline and opal. The zodiac signs are Libra (until October 22) or Scorpio (October 23 onwards).

It is a time when it starts to feel like winter. This is the month of Hunting and Winter Nights. Winter Nights also celebrates the bounty of the now completed harvest, but more importantly, honors the Alfs, Disir and Huldfolk. Libations of ale, milk, or mead are traditionally poured onto the earth as an offering.

Kalc is used for kk (chalice) K.  Kalc is a useful rune for preparing to give something of great value in a ceremony, it can also be a good rune for dedicating oneself to a cause or to one’s Path.  Pertho p is the rune denoting the sound p.  Pertho is a rune that says that deep transformative powers are at work, feminine or hidden talents.  Yr for y (bow) y.  A finely crafted weapon stands out as a symbol of pride, attention, skill, care and magic.  

The Tenth Hall is about your public life. This time also rules fame, notoriety, occupation, career, ambition, government, military, mother, chief executives, business life, goals, ranks, political position, status, standing in the public eye, position in society. It shows your standing in the community and social status. It can reflect your attitude to parenting. Other keywords include honor, authority and profession, life direction, achievement, mastery and hierarchy.


4 Wane Moon T

This aspect of the God is Winter, night, wisdom, counsel, the gateway to death and reincarnation, the Waning Moon.

                              O beautiful Moon waning in light,

                              nothing compares to your beauty this night,

                              I ask thee fair sage to take away

                              things that do not serve me in a positive way.

                              Take the things that stop my growth,

                              so I can serve thee, it is my oath.

                              Remove the things I no longer need,

                              so I can prepare anew, for this I plead.

                              Make me new for the dark Moon phase.

                              I ask this great sage for the coming days.


5 Fire Prevention

fire y_engelszorn.jpgNational Fire Prevention Week is observed in the United States and Canada, during the week (from Sunday to Saturday) in which October 9 falls.  In the United States, the first Presidential proclamation of Fire Prevention Week was made in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge.  The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) continues to be the international sponsor of the week.

Many bedroom fires are caused by misuse or poor maintenance of electrical devices, careless use of candles, smoking in bed, and children playing with matches and lighters.  Most potential hazards can be addressed with a little common sense.  Be sure to keep flammable items like bedding, clothes and curtains at least three feet away from portable heaters or lit candles and never smoke in bed.  Also, items like appliances or electric blankets should not be operated if they have frayed power cords and electrical outlets should never be overloaded.

As Pagans, we often use bonfires and candles in our rites and gatherings.  In rituals, fire is represented in the forms of burning objects, love spells, baking and lighting candles or fires.  The manifestations of the element are found in the sun, candles, volcanoes, ash, lava and all forms of light.  But as we use this element, keep in mind safety. 


9 Leif Erikson Day

Leif Erikson Day honors a Viking explorer known as Leif Erikson. He is believed to be the first recorded Nordic person to have visited North America. It is believed that he visited places such as Baffin Island and Labrador around 1000 CE. October 9 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the day that the ship Restauration arrived in New York from Stavanger, Norway.

In 1963, archaeologists found ruins of a Viking-type settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, in northern Newfoundland, which correspond to Leif's description of Vinland.  Serve up a hearty Viking feast of roasted meats, potatoes, lutefisk (fish), lefse (flatbread) and some traditional Scandinavian desserts like krumkaker (cookies). 

                              The dragonhead of single masted longboats

                              Lead the Norsemen to American shores

                              From the bitter cold of Greenland

                              To the plush pastures of Vineland

                              They came.

                              They did not come for slaves

                              They did not come for riches

                              They committed no genocide

                              They did not murder in the name of God

                              They came to find a better life.


9 Draconid Meteor Shower

The 2015 Draconid meteor shower are expected to peak on October 9. A new Moon on October 13, 2015 will create idea conditions for those in the Northern Hemisphere to view the meteors. The best time to see the shower is right before nightfall.

Just lie down on the ground and look directly above and you are bound to see some meteors – astronomers suggest locating the constellation's two brightest stars, Eltanin and Rastaban. The meteor shower seems to emerge from the dragon’s head.


12 New Moon m

The new Moon is a ripe time to introduce new beginnings and projects, basically any desires you wish to come into fruition.  You can meditate on your desires, write down a list of positive affirmations or speak to the Moon directly.

                              I bow to Thee Hecate, Diana, Manni and thank

                              Thee for Thy blessing - the Cauldron of Night

                              full of life, and death and life again;

                              Thy magic gives me wings.

                              Blessed Be.


12 Indigenous Peoples Day

Indigenous People's Day (also known as Native American Day) is a secular holiday celebrated in various localities in the United States, begun as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day.  Our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us to fully understand the legacy of Christopher Columbus, just as it calls us to respect and learn from indigenous peoples and support their struggles for social justice and religious freedom.

In many Native American mythologies, Father Sky and Mother Earth are important creative forces. We notice that Mother Earth and Father Sky are objective reality.  Father Sky in union with Mother Earth are our true parents. Father Sky gives us energy for our lives and heats our bodies and our lodges.  We are all part of Mother Earth, each rock, each four legged, each two legged, all creatures, plants and minerals. We are all related. We respect our Mother Earth and protect her.  We have to learn to live in the harmony and peace with each other and with nature.  That is not just a dream, but a necessity.

                              O our mother the earth, O our father the sky,  Your children are

                              we, and with tired backs,  We bring you the gifts that you love. 

                              Then weave for us a garment of brightness; May the warp be the

                              white lightning of morning,  May the weft be the red light of

                              evening,  May the fringes be the falling rain,  May the border be

                              the standing rainbow.  Thus weave for us a garment of

                              brightness.  That we may walk fittingly where grass is green, 

                              O our mother the earth, O our father the sky.


15 White Cane Day

White Cane Safety Day is celebrates blind and visually impaired people's achievements in the United States on October 15 every year. It also reminds people about the how the white cane is an important tool in helping the blind and the visually impaired live with greater independence.

The white cane can be perceived by many as a symbol of blindness or visual impairment. White canes are recognized for providing the visually impaired with greater mobility, allowing them to participate more within their communities. Blind and visually impaired people have used canes as mobility tools for centuries but it was not until after World War I that the white cane was properly introduced. In modern times there are different varieties of this tool, each serving slightly varied needs.

The blind God Hod of darkness and winter is the son of Odin and Frigg. When the Gods enjoyed themselves by using his brother Balder as a target, Hod unintentionally killed him by throwing a fig made of mistletoe, the only object that could harm Balder. Hod was put to death for this deed by Vali, Odin's youngest son who was born for revenge.


20 Wax Moon

Bring wanted things into your life.  A time to bring money and prosperity to you.

                              Loving Goddess, Faithful God

                              Help me to calm my mind and spirit

                              and to consider my own strength as I travel in this world.

                              May I walk the divine path you have created for me with grace

                              and ease.  Remind me that I am your instrument

                              and that regardless of what the situation looks like,

                              You are in control and have my best interest at heart.

                              Blessed Be.


20 Tyr's Day

Agree to a promise that limits your convenience. Tyr is the God of oaths, justice, law, courage and warfare in Germanic Mythology, portrayed as a one handed man.  He is renowned for his great wisdom, is unrivalled in his sense of duty and nerve. 

Tysdagr in Old Norse, receives its name from Tyr (Old English, Tiw, Tew or Tiu).  Tyr is a God associated with battle and war, but also with order, justice and law.  Tuesday is thus good for dealing with legal matters, and putting all kind of things in order. Concentrate on the mystery of tiwaz t.  Remember how Tyr placed his hand in Fenrir’s mouth, think deeply about the concepts of order and self-sacrifice—what they are and what they mean to you.

Is your life generally ‘in order’?  What areas in your life and in yourself you would like to reorganize?  The t rune is also the lot of troth (faith, loyalty, kinship). It is said that a man who does not flinch and surpasses others is said to be “as brave as Tyr.”  Spend time with your friends and family.  Although it is important to plan things and to work methodically, don’t forget to also take action, instead of just endlessly planning. Follow Tyr and victory will be yours.

                              I ask thee, Lord of Justice, to bring forth Justice.  Take action

                              against the one who betrayed us, who broke oaths sworn to us. 

                              We acted with honor, and were met with dishonor.  I ask you,

                              Lord Tyr, grant us justice, so that others may not be brought

                              down or brought harm because of me. 

                              Hail unto Tyr, God of Justice.


21 Patrick Stewart Birthday

Patrick D Stewart (1970 – 2005) was a soldier in the United States Army.  He died in combat in Afghanistan when his helicopter was shot down by a grenade while returning to base.  Patrick Stewart was a resident of Nevada and a practicing Wiccan.  After his death, controversy ensued when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initially refused to imprint a Wiccan pentacle on his grave, to the dismay of his widow.  As part of a settlement in 2007, the VA added the pentacle to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on VA issued headstones, markers and plaques.


22 Aidan Kelly Birthday

Aidan Kelly (Author) is an American academic, poet and influential figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca.  He is an important figure in the creation of the Covenant of the Goddess, an organization designed to protect the civil rights of members of the Wiccan community in the United States. He has also published academic work studying the early development of Gardnerian Wiccan liturgy, primarily through his controversial 1991 book Crafting the Art of Magic.


27 Full Hunters Moon

While in ancient times, hunting was necessary to feed families, this is no longer the case for some.  Still, it is a sacred ritual for many people. As hunters, we take full responsibility for the life we harvest. We not only eat the meat, but - just as our ancestors before us - make swift use of the animal's other gifts, giving it immortality it might not otherwise have.  A hide for a shirt.  Or fur for warmth.  Or a tooth necklace.  Or even a memory of the hunt.  A time for comfort, kitchens, hearths and cleansing.  Plan a ritual to work on ridding yourself of negative thoughts and vibrations.

                              Sing of Manni´s lustrous ray,

                              Incandescent light sublime.

                              Nightly lantern, Hati´s prey,

                              Nott´s companion, counting time.

                              Manni, shine throughout the heavens,

                              Manni, shine till Sunna´s rise!

                              Mundilfari´s silent son,

                              Shine until the end of time.


31 Celtic New Year

To the Celts, time was circular rather than linear. This is reflected in their commencing each day, and each festival, at dusk rather than dawn, a custom comparable with that of the Jewish Sabbath. It is also reflected in their year beginning with the festival of Samhain on 31 October, when nature appears to be dying down. Tellingly, the first month of the Celtic year is Samonios, ‘Seed Fall’: in other words, from death and darkness springs life and light.

At Samhain, cattle were brought in for the winter, and in Ireland the warrior elite, the Fianna, gave up war until Beltane. It was a sacred time, whose peace was normally broken only by the ritualized battle of board games such as fidchell.


31 Samhain

A day of Hunt, Food and Death.  Our modern Halloween stems from Samhain, and one explanation of the traditional pumpkin lanterns is that the Celts once placed the skulls of ancestors outside their doors at this time. The Christians took over the Celtic festival and turned it into All Saints Day. Even the modern English celebration of Guy Fawkes Day has echoes of the ancient fire festival.

For the Norse it is close to Winter Nights.  In the old calendar, winter begins about Mid-October; however this holiday may move about in the calendar depending on your seasons, many match it with Samhain. It is a time to celebrate the completed harvest and honor the ancestors.  It marked the beginning of a time of indoor work, thought and craftsmanship.

To the ancient Germanic people, death was never far away and it was viewed as a natural and necessary part of life.  Starting on this night, the great divisions between the worlds was somewhat diminished, which can allow the forces of chaos to invade the realms of order, the material world conjoining with the world of the dead.  At this time began the Wild Hunt in which the restless spirits of the dead walked amongst the living.  The dead could return to the places where they had lived and food was provided in their honor. 

A time to honor the deceased, divining, the circle of life and entertainment.  Libations of ale, milk or mead are traditionally poured onto the Earth as an offering.  Apples may be offered to the fallen ancestors.  Hay may be left out for Odin’s horse Sleipnir.  Odin’s mighty steed thus marks the kindred home as one of welcoming.    

                              Lord and Lady,

                              Thank you for the love in my life

                              Thank you for the calm of my spirit, and for teaching me to trust

                              myself.  You shower me with blessings every moment of every day

                              and I give thanks that I am able to recognize these gifts in all

                              their forms, and that I am able to honor others with the

                              generosity and love you have shown me.  Blessed be.
















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