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Dag

Themes: Sun, blessings, cycles, movement, travel
Symbols: Gold or yellow items, horses

About Dag: Northern Scandinavian legends describe Dag, whose name
means “day”, as shining so brightly that she lights both the heavens and
the Earth, which is certainly what occurs around this time of year. As
the northern hemisphere approaches late Spring, Dag’s inspiring light
and warmth are welcome and notable. Dag navigates the sky with the
help of a horse, her sacred animal, giving her additional connections
with movement and safe travel.

To Do Today: This date begins a “day” for Norwegians that will
actually last for 10 weeks, emphasizing Dag’s power. Correspondingly,
people’s activity level increases around the clock, as they sleep less
to adjust to the change in Earth’s cycle. So, when your inner
resources lag or you’re out of kilter with natural or biological clocks,
turn to Dag for assistance. Wear gold or yellow items to tune into her
vibrations, and get out in Dag’s sunlight today ( if the weather
cooperates ). It’s very healthy and naturally generates more of Dag’s
positive energy for anything you undertake.

It’s an excellent day to take a short trip anywhere. If you enjoy
horseback riding and have a stable nearby, take a jaunt and ride with
Dag and the wind at your back. Alternatively, use “horse power” and take
a short drive in your car!

from 365 Goddess – A Daily Guide of the Magick and Inspiration of the
Goddess
by Patricia Telesco

Goddess Meditation

There is a Divine Order to everything in life. It is for this reason
that exactly where you are at any given time in life, is exactly where
you should be according to the Divine unfolding of your consciousness
and life.
Goddess come near. Accept our worship.
Bless us. Let us prosper. Bring us fruit.
May our furrows be straight and deep.
May you, rich as milk. feed us deeply.
You are the center of the altar
where we make sacrifice.
You are the priestess and the farmer.
You are the living Earth itself.
~ Indian Prayers From Rig Veda and Harivama

These Indian prayers remind us of the connection the ancients saw
between the Earth and humankind – a connection that was continually
reinforced by ritual. Ritual need not be complex or elaborate. Something
as simple as bowing to the rising Sun was an important ritual to many
people throughout the world. Rituals like that, and the sacrifices of
first fruits typical of farming folk, reminded those who performed them
of the complex interconnections between the Earth and her children.

What rituals do we perform today? Instead of bowing to the Sun, we turn
on the radio. Instead of offering our first fruits, we buy new clothes.
We have become, as a nation, mindless consumers of Earth’s gifts. What
if, for one day, we thanked the Goddess for every gift as we accepted
it? How might our consciousness, our world, be transformed?

from The Goddess Companion – Daily Meditations on the Feminine Spirit
by Patricia Monaghan

Hestia

Hestia was the Goddess of the Hearth. She was felt to be present in the living flame at the center of the home or temple. Hestia’s symbol was the circle; her first hearths were round. The home (or temple) was not sanctified until Hestia entered. She made these places holy when she was there. She was considered a spiritually-felt presence as well as a sacred fire that provided illumination and warmth.

Even though she was greatly honored, she was the least known of the Greek goddesses. She was the first child born to Rhea and Cronos. In the Roman pantheon she is known as Vesta, and her mythology appears in three Homeric hymns.

Come Vesta, to live in this Beautiful Home,
Come with warm feelings of friendship.
Bring your intelligence,
Your energy and your Passion
To join with your Good Work.
Burn always in my Soul.
You are welcome here.
I remember you.
–Homeric hymn

Aphrodite caused Poseidon and Apollo to fall in love with Hestia. She refused them both, taking an oath to remain “a woman unto herself.”

Hestia’s significance is found in rituals symbolized by fire. For example, whenever a new couple would venture out to start a new home, Hestia would come with them, representing the sacred fire and linking the old home with the new. This symbolizes continuity and relatedness. Hestia’s fire provided warmth and sanctified the home.

Hestia was often associated with Hermes, the messenger god. He was an eloquent deity, a protector of travellers and god of speech. In households, Hermes and Hestia were related but separate. Hestia provided the sanctary for the bonding together of the family; Hermes was the protector at the door.

The Hestia archetype represents focused consciousness. Her way of perceiving is inward and intuitive. This archetype allows us to get in touch with our values by focusing on what is personally meaningful.

Birthwort

Botanical: Aristolochia longa (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Aristolochiaceae
—Synonym—Long-rooted Birthwort.
—Part Used—The root.
—Habitat—Southern Europe and Japan.

——————————————————————————–
—Description—There are several species of the Aristolochias used by herbalists in India. The root is spindle-shaped from 5 cm. to 3 dm. in length, about 2 cm. in thickness, fleshy, very brittle, greyish externally, brownish-yellow inside, bitter and of a strong disagreeable odour when fresh.
—Constituent—Aristolochine.

—Medicinal Action and Uses—Said to be useful as an aromatic stimulant in rheumatism and gout and for removing obstructions, etc., after childbirth. Dose, 1/2 to 1 drachm of the powdered root.

—Other Species—
Aristolochia, cymbifera from Brazil and Mexico is said to have medicinal properties similar to the official species. Butte affirms it is a depressant to the sensory nerve centres and is useful in neuralgia and pruritis; it was formerly considered alexiteric, antiparalytic, antiperiodic and aphrodisiac.

A. Argentina root is used in that republic as a diuretic and diaphoretic, especially for rheumatism.

A. Indica is used as an emmenagogue, antiarthritic, stomachic, purgative and vermifuge, and in the East Indies is used for similar purposes as the American and European species.

A. Sempervirens is said to be used by the Arabians as a remedy against the poisonous effects of snake-bite.

A. Foetida in Mexico is used as a stimulant to foul ulcers.

A. serpentaria used in bilious, typhoid and typhus fevers, smallpox, pneumonia, amenorrhoea and fevers of a septicaemic type. It is often given in combination with Peruvian Bark, rendering it more active and preventing ill effects on the stomach. It is also used in North America, as are several other varieties of the species, as an alexiteric and for the bites of mad dogs.

Nugua

Themes: Balance, masculinity, femininity, cooperation, equality
Symbols: Yin-Yang Symbol, opposites

About Nugua: In China, Nugua is known as “she who restores
balance.” Nugua’s energy brings life back into equilibrium when
circumstances may have threatened us with chaos. In art she is
depicted as being part rainbow-colored dragon and part woman,
representing the importance of maintaining balance between the lower and
the higher self.

To Do Today: Around this time of year, when the daylight and nighttime
hours are growing closer to equal, the Chinese hold a dragon-boat
festival that revels in Nugua’s balance–the masculine ( yin ) and
feminine ( yang ), the light and the dark, and the cooperative energies
that dance between the two. To commemorate this yourself, be sure to
carry a coin with you ( the heads/tails represents duality ), but keep
it where you won’t accidentally spend it. Bless it, saying,

“By day and dark,
Nugua’s balance impart.”

If negativity threatens your sense of stability, follow Chinese custom
and drum out the evil. Use anything that has a drumlike sound, move
counterclockwise, the direction of banishing, and visualize Nugua’s
rainbow filling every inch of your home.

Offerings of beans, peaches, and rice are also customary. So, either
leave these in a special spot or eat them to internalize any of Nugua’s
attributes you need today.

from 365 Goddess – A Daily Guide of the Magick and Inspiration of the
Goddess
by Patricia Telesco

Goddess Meditation

Let us begin. Let us sing.
Singing of the small corn.
Singing of the large corn.
Singing as the evening falls.
Singing as the light dawns.
The light dawns and finds us singing,
singing as the corn waves tassels at us.
The dark falls and finds us singing,
singing while the squash waves leaves us.
The earth rumbles from the beating
of our basket drums.
The sky rumbles from the beating
of our basket drums.
The rain comes. The rain comes.
~ Pima Rain-Making Song

The plants that feed us need Sun and water and soil in order to thrive.
Too much of one, too little of another, will mean a ruined crop – and,
because we depend upon plants for food, will mean starvation and death
as well. Our forebears knew the necessity of balance between sun and
rain, between night and day, between rest and activity. Too often,
today, the balance is lost, so that newscasters bemoan the rain our
farms and gardens need – and which we, in turn, need as well.

When the weather thwarts our plans this Summer, when weekends are rainy
and evenings damp, let us recognize the rain’s necessity and thank the
goddess for her bounty. The lush green fields, and full larders, will be
our rewards

from The Goddess Companion – Daily Meditations on the Feminine Spirit
by Patricia Monaghan

How To Make A Scrabble Tile Pendant

To begin making your own Scrabble Tile Pendant you will need the following supplies:

- Scrabble Tile (from an old game or eBay)

- Silver Plated Bail (called aanraku bail)

- Decorative Paper (scrapbooking paper)

- Diamond Glaze (craft store)

- E6000 Jewelry Adhesive (craft store)

- Scissors

- Pen or Pencil

- Paint Brush (optional)

Step 1: Select the paper you would like to use for your pendant. You could use scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, or even a greeting card. Simply trace around one of the Scrabble tiles and cut out, making sure to cut the paper just slightly larger than the tile.

Step 2: Next spread a small drop of Diamond Glaze adhesive onto the blank side of a Scrabble tile. You can use a paint brush or just spread the glaze around with the tip of the bottle. Then place your cut out paper onto the tile. (Make sure the letter on the back isn’t upside down.) Let it dry for 10 to 20 minutes.

Step 3: Once the adhesive is dry, hold the Scrabble tile so the letter faces you and the paper is on the other side. Use scissors to carefully trim the excess paper off so that the paper fits the tile exactly.

Step 4: Next, apply a generous coat of Diamond Glaze to seal the paper and give your pendant a glossy glass like shine. It’s best not to use a paint brush for this step but to just spread the glaze with the tip of the bottle. If any bubbles form just pop them with the back of your paint brush or slide them off of the tile. Now let it dry for at least 4 hours.

Step 5: Apply a few drops of E6000 Jewelry Adhesive to the silver bail and attach it to the back (letter side) of your Scrabble tile. Make sure that the bail is exactly centered.

Let the bail dry for a couple of hours and you are ready to enjoy your handmade Scrabble Tile Pendant!

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Birch, Common

Botanical: Betula alba (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Betulaceae
—Synonyms—White Birch. Bouleau. Berke. Bereza. Monoecia triandria. B. pubescens. B. verrucosa.
—Parts Used—The bark and the leaves.
—Habitat—Europe, from Sicily to Iceland. Northern Asia.

——————————————————————————–
—History—The name is a very ancient one, probably derived from the Sanscrit bhurga, ‘a tree whose bark is used for writing upon.’ From its uses in boat-building and roofing it is also connected with the A.S. beorgan, ‘to protect or shelter.’
Coleridge speaks of it as the ‘Lady of the Woods.’ It is remarkable for its lightness, grace, and elegance, and after rain it has a fragrant odour.

The young branches are of a rich red brown or orange brown, and the trunks usually white, especially in the second species of B. alba, B. verrucosa. B. pubescens is darker, and has downy instead of warted twigs.

The wood is soft and not very durable, but being cheap, and the tree being able to thrive in any situation and soil, growing all over Europe, is used for many humble purposes, such as bobbins for thread mills, herring-barrel staves, broom handles, and various fancy articles. In country districts the Birch has very many uses, the lighter twigs being employed for thatching and wattles. The twigs are also used in broom making and in the manufacture of cloth. The tree has also been one of the sources from which asphyxiating gases have been manufactured, and its charcoal is much used for gunpowder.

The white epidermis of the bark is separable into thin layers, which may be employed as a substitute for oiled paper and applied to various economical uses. It yields oil of Birch Tar, and the peculiar, well-known odour of russia leather is due to the use of this oil in the process of dressing. It likewise imparts durability to leather, and it isowing to its presence that books bound in russia leather are not liable to become mouldy. The production of Birch Tar oil is a Russian industry of considerable importance. It is also distilled in Holland and Germany, but these oils are appreciably different from the Russian oil. It has the property of keeping away insects and preventing gnatbites when smeared on the hands. It is likewise employed in photography.

When the stem of the tree is wounded, a saccharine juice flows out which is susceptible, with yeast, of vinous fermentation. A beer, wine, spirit and vinegar are prepared from it in some parts of Europe. Birch Wine, concocted from this thin, sugary sap of the tree, collected from incisions made in the trees in March, honey, cloves and lemon peel being added and then the whole fermented with yeast, makes a very pleasant cordial, formerly much appreciated. From 16 to 18 gallons of sap may be drawn from one large tree, and a moderate tapping does no harm.

—Constituents—Birch bark only contains about 3 per cent. of tannic acid, but is extensively used for tanning, wherever there are large birch forests, throughout Northern Europe. As it gives a pale colour to the skin, it is used for the preliminary and the final stages of tanning. It contains betulin and betuls camphor.

The leaves contain betulorentic acid.

By destructive distillation, the white epidermis of the bark yields an empyreumatic oil, known variously in commerce as oil of Birch Tar, Oleum Rusci, Oleum Betulinum or Dagget. This is a thick, bituminous, brownish-black liquid, with a pungent, balsamic odour. It contains a high percentage of methylsalicylate, and also creosol and guaiacol. The Rectified Oil (Oleum Rusci Rectificatum) is sometimes substituted for oil of Cade.

Birch Tar oil is almost identical with Wintergreen oil. It is not completely soluble in 95 per cent. acetic acid, nor in aniline, but Turpentine oil dissolves it completely.

—Medicinal Action and Uses—Various parts of the tree have been applied to medicinal uses. The young shoots and leaves secrete a resinous substance having acid properties, which, combined with alkalies, is said to be a tonic laxative. The leaves have a peculiar, aromatic, agreeable odour and a bitter taste, and have been employed in the form of infusion (Birch Tea) in gout, rheumatism and dropsy, and recommended as a reliable solvent of stone in the kidneys. With the bark they resolve and resist putrefaction. A decoction of them is good for bathing skin eruptions, and is serviceable in dropsy.

The oil is astringent, and is mainly employed for its curative effects in skin affections, especially eczema, but is also used for some Internal maladies.

The inner bark is bitter and astringent, and has been used in intermittent fevers.

The vernal sap is diuretic.

Moxa is made from the yellow, fungous excrescences of the wood, which sometimes swell out from the fissures.

—Dosage—Of alcoholic extract of the leaves, 25 to 30 grains daily.

—Other Species—
B. benta (Cherry Birch, Black Birch, Sweet Birch, Mahogany Birch, or Mountain Mahogany) is an American variety, with richlymarked wood suitable for the use of cabinet and pianoforte makers. The liquor is used in Kamschatka without previous fermentation. The cambium, or the layer between the wood and the bast, is eaten in the spring, cut into strips like vermicelli, and the bark is stimulant, diaphoretic, and astringent, in a warm infusion. In decoction or syrup it forms an excellent tonic for dysentery, and is said to be useful in gravel and female obstructions.

B. trophylla is a syn. of Rhus Aromatica, or Fragrant Sumach.

B. papyracea, or Paper Birch, is largely used for canoe-making in America.

B. nana, or Smooth Dwarf Birch, rarely grows above 3 feet in height. The leaves are said to dye a better yellow than the Common Birch; the seeds are a principal food of ptarmigan in Lapland; Moxa is prepared from it and regarded as an effective remedy in all painful diseases.

Nerthus

Themes: Spring, cycles, health, energy, peace & prosperity
Symbols: Fire, chariot & soil

About Nerthus: This Germanic Earth Goddess welcomes the season with Her
presence. She was so important in Danish regions that no weapons or iron
tools could be left out during Her festivals, because that was thought
to invoke Her displeasure. During spring rites, Her statue was covered
on a chariot until the priest determined She had arrived to oversee the
festivities.

To Do Today: Traditionally, today is spent before a bonfire that greets
the Sun and banishes the last vestiges of Winter. So, take down your
heavy winter curtains, and let some light into the house! This restores
Nerthus’s positive energy and expels any lingering sicknesses. If it’s
cloudy out, turn on some lights, don dazzling-coloured clothing, and
find ways to brighten up your living space with flowers and decorations
that speak of Earth ( Nerthus ) and Spring’s beauty.

Another customary activity is turning the soil, mixing it with an
offering of milk, flour, and water. Even if you don’t have a garden,
turn a little dirt near your apartment or home and leave a similar gift.
This action rejoices in Nerthus’s awakening and draws the goddess’s
peace and prosperity to your residence. To take a little of that same
blessing with you, just collect a bit of the soil-milk mixture in a
container and put it wherever you need peace or prosperity the most.

from 365 Goddess – A Daily Guide on the Magick and Inspiration of the
Goddess
by Patricia Telesco

Goddess Meditation
Winter unclenches its fists, stroked by Spring breezes from the west.
The Ocean opens itself to the keels of ships.
Cattle grow restless in the stable, we grow restless at our firesides,
and the white frost melts away from the grass.
At night the Moon hovers over a sacred dance, which Aphrodite leads as
Graces and light nymphs follow Her.
Now is the season for garlanding our hair with myrtle and flowers,
now is the time to rejoice with the happy Earth.
~ Horace

The Spring Sun shines on the wakening Earth, and our hearts stir, too,
released from Winter’s grip. The heart has its seasons, just as the
world around us does. There are times when we are closed to others,
times when we hold back from connecting to those we love or could love.
But finally we must ripen into a new opening, a new Spring, a new
connection.

When we find ourselves closed and alone, we can easily grow fearful that
life will never smile upon us again. Yet in the cycle of the year,
Spring always follows Winter. In the same way, new openings appear when
the heart’s needed rest is over. Accept your own inner seasons; they
are as natural as those of the world around us.

from The Goddess Companion – Daily Meditations on the Feminine Spirit
by Patricia Monaghan

Wanna Know Something!

Got craft questions send them here. Will try to post some of them in the next issue.