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All
wooden items created by
Spirit of Old are crafted using
Wildwood Knives |
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The Moon and
the Sun
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The Moon and the
Sun played extremely important roles in the lives of the ancient
people. They were the calendar and clock marking hours, months
and seasons. The Sun gave the all-important warmth and light,
the life-force for the crops. The Moon pulled the tides, and the
people of Old England believed it also affected the growth and
energies of plants.
An Anglo-Saxon manuscript called the Lacnunga describes the
ancient art of magickal healing, combining spells with herbal
medicine. It gives detailed instructions about the effect of the
Moon and Sun on medicinal and magickal herbs when they are
gathered. For example, it states that a wizard collecting
Periwinkle must pluck it "when the moon is nine nights old, and
eleven nights, and thirteen nights, and thirty nights, and when
it is one night old." The Mulberry plant should be picked "when
to all men the moon is seventeen nights old, after the setting
of the sun, ere the rising of the moon".
The people of Old England had strong beliefs in magick. They
regarded any dividing lines between the contrasting periods of
time, e.g.. night and day, halves of the year, first and second
halves of months, etc. to be charged with special power. Even
the setting of the Sun and the rising of the Moon created a
charged atmosphere. Herbal mixtures could be enhanced by adding
fresh dew from the early morning and the powers of magick were
also at their height at dusk, as the Sun was setting. |
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Moon phases
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There are
twenty-eight days per Moon cycle and thirteen Moon cycles per
year. Each cycle is further divided into quarters lasting roughly
one week each. The different phases of the Moon have different
energies and can affect many things. The tides of the sea are
higher or lower depending on the Moon phase and time of year, a
woman's menstrual cycle roughly follows the Moon's pattern and
people have long believed that the energy of different Moon phases
can strongly affect the growth pattern of plants.
Magick has long been considered to be greatly affected by the
Moon's phases and the power of the Moon is often used within
spells to enhance them. The varying energies of the Moon's phases
are as follows:
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New Moon |
The first tiny crescent is visible |
New
beginnings, new ventures, new life, new opportunities,
innocence, childhood - spells concerning pregnancy or
children could be effectively cast at this time |
Waxing Moon |
The Moon is growing larger each night |
All spells
of increase or gain should be worked under this phase.
Magick which works to bring something into your life |
Full Moon |
The Moon is at its largest |
This
is the most powerful phase of the Moon and is good for all
types of magick and particularly protection |
Waning Moon |
The Moon is growing smaller each night |
This is the
phase to remove things from your life - clearing out,
letting go |
Dark Moon |
No part of the Moon is visible at all |
This phase
is the time to cast banishing spells to drive something from
you. It is also a powerful time for divination and scrying |
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Moon names
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The Moon names in
the table below are
widely-used, although I can't be certain of how historically
accurate they are. |
Traditional names |
Oak Moon
Wolf Moon
Storm Moon
Chaste Moon
Seed Moon
Hare Moon
Dyad Moon
Mead Moon
Wort Moon
Barley Moon
Wine Moon
Blood Moon
Snow Moon |
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