Learning some Astronomy

A large hurdle in recognizing constellations is determining how large of an area in the sky the constellation takes up. If you look closely at your star atlas, you can find out how big the constellations are as measured in angular degrees. Since the stars are light years away, there is no way to measure their distance from one another, so way must express their relationships in angular degrees of separation. The ancient Babylonians figured out that the sun takes 365 days to move completely around the background of the sky. It is by their definition that the sun appears to move about one degree a day in relation to the other stars in the sky.

Today, we still use their method of dividing a circle into 360 degrees. You can quickly find your way around the heavens with nothing more than your hands. Make a closed fist and hold it at arm's length. This is your measure of 10 degrees. Don't worry if you have big hands. God gave you long arms to match, so this will still work. This all works for little kids too because their little hands are matched with short arms. Starting at the horizon, pace off fist over fist until your reach the zenith. Counted nine 10-degree fists? Turn around and work your way back to the other horizon. Another 90 degrees? 180 degrees from horizon to horizon? Half a circle? Hmm. It works... You can estimate smaller amounts of angular separation. Try gauging the distance between the lower rear star of the Big Dipper to the upper right star the forms the spout. Your thumb's width at arm's length subtends about 2 degrees. 5 thumbs would suggest 10 degrees. Check your atlas! If you hold up your pinky, you can just cover the full moon. 1/2 degree! Experiment: Is the moon actually larger on the horizon than near the zenith? Use your new celestial protractor to find out.

pinky - thumb (Hang-ten!) = 20d
index - pinky (Devil's Horns) = 15d
fist = 10d
3fingers (Boy Scout Salute)= 5d
Pinky alone = 1/2 degree

Armed with your new found knowledge or how to use your hands to feel your way across the sky, your star chart takes on new meaning. Even a little 5 inch planisphere becomes useful: Dial-in the date and hour, figure that from edge to edge the little map shows 180 degrees. Visualize a halfway line cutting the map in half. Two ninety degree segments. Pick one of those and divide it in half-45 degrees. Now that segment in thirds-15 degrees each. If you make a fist and then extend your index and pinky fingers you have a 15-degree measure to match your 15-degree segments on the planisphere. Count the number of closed fists between Arcturus and Vega. Six? Count the number of finger-extended-15-degree-measures. Four? Twenty degrees from Vega towards Arcturus is the Keystone of Hercules. Another twenty degrees puts you smack dab in the middle of Corona Borealis. Count off another 20 to get back to Arcturus.

Ogham or Tarot?

I'd like to learn tarot or some form of divination. I looked at crystal balls for scrying, but good ones are pricy. A +5" natural quartz cabochon would be sweet. Maybe I'll look at a scrying mirror. Cheap is good. I've yet to try it though. I'm pretty good at spacing out and staring past things for 10-20 minutes at a time, but I think reading a spread is a little more engaging.

I had a Rider deck and a book. I figured out a couple of spread and how to read the relationships. But there's too many cards. How does anyone memorize all the meanings of all the cards? I guess there's keywords that you can work on. Subtle clues in the art on the cards. Maybe I'm learning disabled. Anyone have any tips for me?

I think I found a better divination tool: ogham! The druids had a divination system similar to runes, but using sticks instead. Sticks are collected from various trees and each tree has a certain story and information associated with it. I've got some pruning shears in the car and I've been collecting woods where I find them. There's a lot of birch trees growing along Rt80 here in NJ. I spotted some holly bushes on the far side of the car park at work. I'm either going to get killed on the highway or fired, but I'm gonna' have a cool set of ogham sticks.

From what I can figure, you either draw the sticks, blindly, out of a bag, or cast the lot on the ground. The lot casting makes more sense to me as it gives you a sort of timeline. Those sticks closer to you are more recent or perhaps the past. Those sticks furthest from you represent events or things in the future.

What is good luck?

Is it chance? Is it something we are born with? Is it good planning? Maybe it is a little bit of all these things. Is it something we can control? I believe we cannot control luck, but we can influence luck. As we examine the list word by word I'll show you how we can influence luck. Fortune is definitely good luck. The word fortune brings to mind financial success. Having enough money is certainly lucky. Again, money is something we can be born with or we can accumulate it by work and planning.

Force that operates for good or ill, please, make it only good. There are many forces and vibrations flowing about us all the time. Putting quartz crystal points in the home helps make the life force much more good luck friendly. An aventurine gemstone in the left pocket makes the chance of getting more money better odds. So, we can influence the forces to be kinder to us. Having advantages in as many areas of life as possible is a very good thing. Being born with beauty is an advantage, but learning to cultivate charm and wit is a greater advantage. Being born with money is an advantage, but arranging to get a good education and keep learning all your life is even a better advantage. I want to be the object of good fortune.

I want to have many objects of good fortune. Is being the object of good fortune and having objects of good fortune the same thing? There is a connection. First I have the intent to have good fortune. Intent is a strong word. It is living my life with a great deal of attentiveness and purpose. I must intend to have luck. Every day I must design to have good luck. This intent helps bring the friendly life forces to flow around me.

Now, what is luck? It is paying attention. Luck is planning. Luck is chance. Good luck is influenced by our paying attention to everything around us, so we are able to take advantage of any opportunity that can make us a better life. Good luck is influenced by planning not just for today but for the years to come, such as saving some money every week. There is always an element of chance in life, but this only makes life more exciting. Good luck in influenced by intent and having objects of good luck around us to remind us all the time of the intent. GOOD LUCK!

Caring for Magickal Crystals

You may find that the crystals you receive from your favorite new age shop or rock shop, don't have the "mystical" powers that you were hoping for... All is not lost. Be proactive and recharge!

Your new crystals have a history. Quite a long history compared to your time on this planet. Who knows who were their last couple of hundred owners over the last couple of eons have been? These stones are yours now. You need to personalize them and make them your tools. First, cleanse them:

You have some choices. You will feel when what you are doing is right and working. Most crystals do well in moving water; a stream, repeated plunging into hot water, or just holding under the faucet with the crystal points down. Feel free to pick off any debris or rub off any fingerprints. These are your gemstones, now. Care for them.

Next, you want to remove any unwanted programming or negative energies.

Some people that are a little more technologically gifted, offer that you can use a bulk tape eraser at this point in the process. Hold the eraser close, but not touching the crystals and turn it on -- 30 seconds, same as for tapes, will do the trick.

Another option is to "ground" the crystals. This is accomplished by burying the stones in the Earth. Much in the same way that a Witch must ground her/himself after working, a crystal can be grounded. Put them in contact with the Earth, or better yet, bury them for a complete cycle of the moon. I have seen a crystal grounding pot: a large hole, dug in the Earth, lined with stones and a very large stone for the cover. My wiccan friend stores her new-found crystals there until she has the time to properly care for them.

Once you are happy that the gemstones are neutral, it is time to begin to add your own energies to the stones. I usually put the gemstones out on a bench in my garden where they will get full sun for a couple of days. When the moon is full works nicely because the stones get the daytime energy of the Sun and the Moon's workings at night. This gives the stones a nice balance and continuous charging.

Finally, once the Heavens have offered their energies, you must provide some of your own! Take each stone in your hands, hold it tightly between your palms with your fingers up, toward your chin. (This is the same posture that was seen by the early Xtians, as people praying to their god.) But we are charging crystals. Inhale sharply, and then breathe, slowly, upon your crystal, through the space above your thumb-tips. Concentrate carefully on your desires. This is the most important step in the procedure. This is what will make your crystals truly yours and give them the power to do what you need!