Monthly Archives: September 2021

As the year comes to a close and Samhain approaches, the Ivy moon rolls in at the end of the harvest season when successes and losses must be accounted for. Ivy often lives on after its host plant has died, and reminds us that life goes on and there is time to be reborn.

The Ivy teaches us that restrictions are necessary to help us hone our skills. During this month remember that your enemies are your teachers and that opposition is a blessing in disguise. Focus on energy that strengthens your resolve.

  • Dates: September 30 – October 27
  • Celtic Name: Gort (pronounced go-ert)
  • Language of Flowers: Friendship, Fidelity, Marriage, Assiduous to Please (as a sprig with trendrils)
  • Qualities: Fertility, Fidelity, Immortality, Resurrection, Rebirth, Healing, Feminine, Winter
  • Themes: Rebirth, Cleansing, Self-improvement, Boundaries, Healing, Protection, Cooperation

The  Month of the Ivy is the perfect time to banish the negative from your life. Avoid the things that are bringing you negativity, work on improving yourself, place a barricade between you and the things that are toxic to you.

Energy that boots your sense of responsibility will make you ready for what lies ahead. Be prepared to take the long-term view and accept and celebrate your life as it is right now. Trust that the Ivy Moon will prepare you to receive an answer to your prayers at exactly the right time. Be patient and you will be guided to your answer.

You can use the month of the Ivy Moon for energy and rituals for protection, or harness its energy to make charms that will strengthen resolve and help you face challenges. It can also be used in magick performed for cooperation, and to bind lovers together.

 Ivy the Survivor

The Ivy Celtic tree sign is blessed with the ability to overcome all odds and can survive in any situation. People born under the energy of the Ivy are loyal, compassionate and have a sharp intellect. Life may be unfair to them at times, but they endure the troubles with soulful grace. They can be drawn to the spiritual world and their faith is deeply rooted. Ivy signs are charming, soft-spoken and have a good compatibility with the Oak and Ash signs.

People born under the Celtic tree Ivy sign are very giving. They are the people that are always willing to help those less fortunate and in need. The Ivy sign is very connected spiritually and their faith often sees them through the tough times they often experience.

They can be on the shy side, but have a very social nature. They are charismatic and charming and can be quite a delight in social situations.

Ivy Magick and Lore

The Celts interpreted the ivy to symbolize friendship and connection to others. Once those connections were established the lesson progressed to also demonstrate growth through the many twists and turns of regular life. Ivy is very hearty also, which goes to further the message of growing even during challenging times in our lives. Even after fire or severe weather, the ivy would return to growing, signifying the strength and will of the human spirit; surviving against all odds.

Ivy is an autumn and winter plant – a plant of fertility and rebirth with a feminine energy. She is a healing and nourishing plant that gives and receives support and provides insight – going her own way, yet forming connections as part of a community.

Ivy is friendship and fidelity, the loving ties of partnership and family – a plant to see us through hard times with loving kindness. Placing ivy leaves, lily petals and lilac flowers in a blue bag will prevent you from returning to a destructive relationship.

Most ivy plants have five-pointed leaves, making them a symbol of protection (signifies the harmony of the elements unified by common bonding energy). To guard against accidents while driving, carefully secure an ivy leaf on the dashboard of your car.

Ivy grows in a spiral formation reminding us that each cycle of the seasons brings us closer to the center, to spirit.

Churches have used holly and ivy for their Christmas décor since at least the 15th century, with holly representing Jesus and ivy, the Virgin Mary.

It was believed that ivy should only ever be brought into the house for Christmas and was unlucky at any other time – along with all the other Christmas decorations, you should be sure to remove the ivy by Twelfth Night, though!

On New Year’s Eve, you could lay an ivy leaf in water and leave it there, returning to it on Twelfth Night – if the ivy was green and healthy, it augured that the upcoming year would be happy. If, however, the ivy leaf had turned black, illness would come. Worst of all, if the ivy leaf was decayed and disintegrating, an untimely death was foretold!

Grow ivy vines around the front door of your house to prevent negativity from entering your home.  A house covered in ivy was believed to be lucky – the ivy would bind the family together and bring wealth to the inhabitants. Ivy also protected the householders from witchcraft and the Evil Eye!

If ivy on a house withered and died, disaster would unfold – Welsh folklore said, specifically, that the house would pass to others.

Ivy leaves swept around an area were thought to cleanse an area of negativity and ill-fortune, and bring good luck instead. But you should take care not to use the ivy leaves picked from a church! To pick just a single ivy leaf from a church meant sickness would befall you!

House Protection With Ivy

Utilize the magic of ivy to protect your home from negative influences. You will need:

  • A black candle
  • Lots of ivy branches

Light the candle and say, “I call upon the spirits of this place, come in peace.”

Make a circle of ivy branches on the floor and step into the center.

Turn to the north and recite, “Spirits of the Earth protect me.”
To the east say, “Spirits of air protect me.”
To the south say, “Spirits of fire protect me.”
To the west say, “Spirits of water protect me.”

Place the branches that formed your circle at the boundaries of your property.

Sources:

The Autumn Equinox  – or Mabon –  is a time of harvesting and celebration.  Often called “Witches’ Thanksgiving,” it’s a prosperity holiday which asks us to gather with one another to count our blessings, connect, and re-balance.  The nights are about to become longer, and soon we’ll be turning inward.

Mabon is a celebration of life and death, and giving of life again, the cycle of the seasons. Mabon is a time to enjoy the fruits of a hard year’s labor, to stock up for the long winter. No matter how you celebrate Mabon, it is important to know that Mabon a time for giving thanks.

The Mothman Festival is an annual gathering commemorating the visit of the mysterious entity known only as “The Mothman.”

This event is held every third weekend in September that commemorates the 1966 Point Pleasant, West Virginia Mothman sighting, which gave birth to the infamous red-eyed winged legend. People from all over the world gather to celebrate their favorite cryptid during this one of a kind event.

A Terrifying Tale

In November 1966, gravediggers working in a cemetery in Clendenin, West Virginia, spotted a strange, man-like figure in the trees above their heads.

A few days later, two young couples from Point Pleasant reported being chased by a large creature with 10-foot wings whose eyes “glowed red” while driving near a former military munitions site outside town.

Sightings of what area newspapers dubbed the “Mothman” continued throughout the next year, oftentimes leaving witnesses with a deep sense of dread. Many locals believed the Mothman lived in a vacant nuclear power plant outside Point Pleasant, perhaps the escaped product of some secret government experiment.

The sightings came to an abrupt halt in December 1967, however, after a horrific tragedy in Point Pleasant. The Silver Bridge—which carried U.S. Route 35 over the Ohio River—collapsed on under the weight of heavy rush hour traffic, killing 46 people.

Coincidence?

The fact that the collapse was later attributed to a faulty suspension chain didn’t stop the conspiracy theories. In 1975, writer John Keel wrote a book titled The Mothman Prophecies linking the bridge collapse with the Mothman sightings. In it, Keel suggested that the sightings were actually bad omens about the impending bridge collapse.

In 2002 the book was turned into a movie starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney, and the spooky West Virginia legend exploded onto the national stage.

The small town of Point Pleasant fully embraced its most famous resident, welcoming the annual Mothman Festival in 2002, installing a 12-foot metallic statute of the creature in 2003, and opening the Mothman Museum and Research Center in 2005.

And in the news…

Hunters in Mason County may need to be on the lookout for something other than deer when they hit the woods this week.

The Point Pleasant Mothman is a local legend that over the years has gained worldwide fame.

There hadn’t been any recent sightings of the red-eyed creature recently, but that changed Sunday evening, when a man who says he was driving along State Route 2 saw something jump from tree to tree. He pulled off the road and snapped some pictures.

The man declined an on-camera interview, but was adamant the pictures had not been doctored. He said he recently moved to Point Pleasant for work and didn’t even know about the legend.

In the pictures, the creature appears to have wings with pointed tips and long legs, bent at an awkward angle.

Point Pleasant locals such as Carolin Harris believe the pictures could be real because there have been so many other sighting over the years.

“I definitely know the Mothman is real,” Harris said.

Harris has owned The Mothman Diner in Point Pleasant for 48 years. She also helped start the Mothman Festival. Harris said there have been too many sightings of the Mothman for her not to believe.

“First responders and the sheriff’s department that I talked to definitely made a believer out of me.” Harris said.

Some believe The Mothman is a bad omen, only appearing when catastrophe is about to strike. There have been many claims the winged, red-eyed creature was seen right before the Point Pleasant Silver Bridge collapsed in 1967.

Harris has met many Mothman believers over the years who visit her diner.

On Monday, Karen and Ralph Smith were patrons at the diner. The couple was traveling from Florida to Pennsylvania, but decided to stop off in Point Pleasant to visit the Mothman Museum.

Karen Smith said she hopes she can add herself into the “believer” category.

“You have eyewitnesses. It does have the potential to be real, and I want to believe,” Smith said.

The Smiths said the Mothman pictures look real to them. So Eyewitness News asked Jeff Wamsley, the local Mothman expert and owner of the Mothman Museum.

Wamsley said with modern technology, it’s almost impossible to know for sure if the pictures are real.

Whether the pictures are real or not, the benefits the legend of the Mothman brings to the town of Point Pleasant are very real.

“It’s a good thing. It brings lots of people to the area. He’s here to stay,” Harris said.

The Wikipedia Story

On November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, told police they saw a large grey creature whose eyes “glowed red” when the car’s headlights picked it up. They described it as a “large flying man with ten-foot wings”, following their car while they were driving in an area outside of town known as “the TNT area”, the site of a former World War II munitions plant.

During the next few days, other people reported similar sightings. Two volunteer firemen who saw it said it was a “large bird with red eyes”. Mason County Sheriff George Johnson commented that he believed the sightings were due to an unusually large heron he termed a “shitepoke”.

Contractor Newell Partridge told Johnson that when he aimed a flashlight at a creature in a nearby field its eyes glowed “like bicycle reflectors”, and blamed buzzing noises from his television set and the disappearance of his German Shepherd dog on the creature.

Wildlife biologist Robert L. Smith at West Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings all fit the sandhill crane, a large American crane almost as high as a man with a seven-foot wingspan featuring circles of reddish coloring around the eyes. The bird may have wandered out of its migration route, and therefore was unrecognized at first because it was not native to this region.

Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand notes that Mothman has been widely covered in the popular press, some claiming sightings connected with UFOs, and others claiming that a military storage site was Mothman’s “home”.

Brunvand notes that recountings of the 1966–67 Mothman reports usually state that at least 100 people saw Mothman with many more “afraid to report their sightings” but observed that written sources for such stories consisted of children’s books or sensationalized or undocumented accounts that fail to quote identifiable persons.

Brunvand found elements in common among many Mothman reports and much older folk tales, suggesting that something real may have triggered the scares and became woven with existing folklore. He also records anecdotal tales of Mothman supposedly attacking the roofs of parked cars occupied by teenagers.

Conversely, Joe Nickell says that a number of hoaxes followed the publicity generated by the original reports, such as a group of construction workers who tied flashlights to helium balloons. Nickell attributes the Mothman stories to sightings of barn owls, suggesting that the Mothman’s “glowing eyes” were actually red-eye effect caused from the reflection of light from flashlights or other bright light sources.

Benjamin Radford points out that the only report of glowing “red eyes,” was secondhand, that of Shirley Hensley quoting her father.

According to University of Chicago psychologist David A. Gallo, 55 sightings of Mothman in Chicago during 2017 published on the website of self-described Fortean researcher Lon Strickler are “a selective sample”. Gallo explains that “he’s not sampling random people and asking if they saw the Mothman – he’s just counting the number of people that voluntarily came forward to report a sighting.” According to Gallo, “people more likely to visit a paranormal-centric website like Strickler’s might also be more inclined to believe in, and therefore witness the existence of, a ‘Mothman’.”

Some pseudoscience adherents (such as ufologists, paranormal authors, and cryptozoologists) claim that Mothman was an alien, a supernatural manifestation, or a previously unknown species of animal. In his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies, author John Keel claimed that the Point Pleasant residents experienced precognitions including premonitions of the collapse of the Silver Bridge, unidentified flying object sightings, visits from inhuman or threatening men in black, and other phenomena.

Festival and Statues

Point Pleasant held its first Annual Mothman Festival in 2002. The Mothman Festival began after brainstorming creative ways for people to visit Point Pleasant. The group organizing the event chose the Mothman to be center of the festival due to its uniqueness, and as a way to celebrate its local legacy in the town.

According to the event organizer Jeff Wamsley, the average attendance for the Mothman is an estimated 10–12 thousand people per year. A 12-foot-tall metallic statue of the creature, created by artist and sculptor Bob Roach, was unveiled in 2003. The Mothman Museum and Research Center opened in 2005.

The festival is held on the third weekend of every September, hosting guest speakers, vendor exhibits, pancake-eating contests, and hayride tours of locally notable areas.

In June of 2020, a petition was started to replace all Confederate statues in the United States with statues of Mothman. As of July 2020, the petition has garnered over 2,000 signatures.

Sources:

According to Tibetan and Vedic astrology, there are a cluster of stars, called the ‘Rishi’ stars, that ‘appear’ for one week each year – usually during the 8th lunar month (September). According to Tibetan astrology, the Rishi stars will be ‘out’ this year from Sept. 9-15. In Tibetan this is known as ‘Karma Rishi.’

According to Hindu legend, these stars were once great sages of the past, who, upon their death, ascended up into the heavens and became these stars. When they are visible in the night sky, their light is said to possess special healing powers that transform all water into a healing nectar.

Some sources state these stars are the Ursa Major, or the ‘big dipper,’ also known as the Sapta Rishi stars, who are associated with the seven great Rishis of Vedic lore. Other sources say this is the Canopus star, which is associated with the Rishi Agastya, and is said to be the ‘cleanser of waters.’

Typically, Tibetan doctors and healers would place buckets of water outside during this time, then use this water for making their medicines. Lama Dawa remembers how His Holiness Matrul Rinpcoche – a great Tibetan physician – would then boil this water down, thus concentrating it, then use this water to make the herbal medicinal pills, and also to consecrate the water with healing mantras.

Another way of benefiting from this healing water is to bathe in pools, ponds or rivers during this time. Or, collect water in buckets and use that for bathing. Any water – whether it is ocean, river, stream, or water in pools, is imbued with the healing qualities of the stars.

This water can be used to make healing tinctures, or for giving to pets and plants. Even the water in our own bodies can be ‘blessed’ and purified by this special healing energy by exposing your body to the night sky when the stars are out.

It is a particularly auspicious time to do practices such as the Vajra Armor mantra, which is used to consecrate water, or Medicine Buddha mantras and offering pujas.

Prayer:

Rangrig Dorje Rinpoche offers this prayer and mantra to be said while taking a bath outside under these stars:

༈ཇི་ལྟར་བལྟམས་པ་ཙམ་གྱིས་ནི། ལྷ་རྣམས་ཀྱིས་ནི་ཁྲུས་གསོལ་ལྟར།
JI-TAR TAM-PA TSAM-GYI NI / LHA-NAM KYI-NI TRU-SOL TAR /
ལྷ་ཡི་ཆུ་ནི་དག་པ་ཡིས། དེ་བཞིན་བདག་གིས་ཁྲུས་བགྱིའོ།
LHA-YI CHU-NI DAG-PA YI / DE-ZHIN DAG-GI TRU-GYI O /

  • Mantra:

ཨོཾ་སརྦ་ཏ་ཐཱ་ག་ཏ་ཨ་བྷི་ཥེ་ཀ་ཏ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཤྲཱི་ཡེ་ཧཱུྃ༔
OM SARWA TAT’HAGATA ABHISHEKA TA SAMAYA SHRI YE HUNG

  • Aspiration:

འདི་ནི་ཁྲུས་མཆོག་དཔལ་དང་ལྡན། ཐུགས་རྗེའི་ཆུ་ནི་བླ་ན་མེད།
DI-NI TRU-CHOG PAL-DANG DEN / T’HUG-JE’I CHU-NI LA-NA MED /
བྱིན་རླབས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆུ་ཡིས་ནི། ཅི་འདོད་དངོས་གྲུབ་སྩོལ་བར་མཛོད།
JIN-LAB YE-SHE CHU-YI NI / CHI-DOD NGO-DRUB TSAL-WAR DZOD

Western Astrology:

Western astrologer, Terry Nazon, offered this information about the Sapta Rishi Stars:

“They are the fixed stars of Ursa Major the Big Dipper. They are always visible…but during that time in September as the constellation late Leo and early Virgo is right above us in the night sky…they are closest then and right above us.

Because the earth is moving and just like the moon moves across the night sky so will the big dipper…it can also be that the Sun is activating them…for planets and stars to be effective they have to be triggered by a planet or star like the sun.

If you are “charging” water you will want to place the water where it receives the most exposure. For instance maybe there’s tree blocking the Big Dipper in your front yard…and remember, we are made up of 60 % water and in ancient Kabbalah, the text said to bath ourselves in this planetary “rain” they called it.”

The Rishi stars:

  • 1. Dubhe The Bear:

Astrology, arrogance, psychic power, destruction; aka Krathu, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) in Ursa Major; Bast Isis, the Egyptian goddess; “The Eye”; “Heaven’s Pivot”

  • 2. Merak:

Prudent, restrained, mistrustful, self-controlled (but angry when roused), love of command, power to achieve, good with animals; Pulaha, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major

  • 3. Phecda:

Civilising influence, tamer of beasts, transmission of divine knowledge; Pulasthya, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of the Great Bear, Ursa Major; bloodbaths, assassinations, riots, sexual perversion

  • 4. Tania Borealis:

In the right hind paw of Ursa Major, along with Tania Australis, this star was part of an early Arabian constellation, The Gazelle, of which this group is the “Second Leap”. The Great Bear is mainly martial in action, considered unfortunate for nations and kings.

  • 5. Megrez:

Spiritual sight; creativity; violence; Atri, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages), the ruling star of the Great Bear, Ursa Major

  • 6. Alioth, The Black Horse:

Suicide among women; danger in pregnancy; Angirasa, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) in Ursa Major

  • 7. Mizar:

Connected with fires of a catastrophic extent and mass calamities; Vasishta, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major

  • 8. Alula Borealis:

Hindmost foot of Ursa Major. As the northern Alula, it is more fortunate. Associated with female infidelity & revenge. The Great Bear gives a quiet, prudent, suspicious, mistrustful, self-controlled, patient nature, but an uneasy spirit; great anger when roused.

The Canopus Star:

The Canopus star is the second brightest star after Sirius. In Indian Vedic literature, the star Canopus, known as the ‘smiling star’ is associated with the sage Agastya, one of the ancient rishis (the others are associated with the stars of the Big Dipper). Agastya, the star, is said to be the ‘cleanser of waters’ and its rising coincides with the calming of the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Canopus is a bright star most easily visible in the Southern Hemisphere. It is in the constellation Carina, the keel. The star is of a fairly rare type, considered a class F giant on the main sequence of stars. This means it has a mass close to that of the sun.

Because the star’s spectral class is not well studied, it is difficult to establish how far away Canopus is. Parallax measurements with the Hipparcos satellite have established it to be about 313 light-years away.

Canopus can’t be seen from most locations in Europe and North America. Observers in northern latitudes south of 37°N can find the star below Sirius in the southern sky on winter evenings. Canopus is at its highest in February around 9 pm. It is located about 36 degrees to the south of Sirius.

In science fiction, Canopus is perhaps best known for being the parent star for Arrakis, a dusty desert planet in the “Dune” universe.

Canopus is used in space navigation to adjust the position of spacecraft in space. Many spacecraft are equipped with a special camera called the Canopus Star Tracker.

Sources:

The Vine is a symbol of both happiness and wrath — passionate emotions, both of them. Do magical workings this month connected to the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, and celebrate garden magic, joy and exhilaration, wrath and rage, and the darker aspect of the mother goddess. Use the leaves of the Vines to enhance your own ambition and goals. during this month. The month of Vine is also a good time to get balanced, as there are equal hours of darkness and light.

This is the time of great abundance. Spells concerning happiness and great passion are best done at this time. This is the perfect time for your ambitions, goals, and dreams.

  • Dates: September 2 – September 29
  • Celtic Name: Muin
  • Language of Flowers (Bramble): Lowliness, Remorse, Envy,
  • Qualities (Bramble): Flexibility, Tenacity, Fierceness, Beauty Reward for Hard Work,
  • Themes: Harvest, Reward, Tenacity, Vigor, Health and Healing.

The Autumn Equinox, when night and day are equal length, occurs during the month of the Vine and will help you to realign your energy to prepare for the dark half of the year.

This is a time to value input from others because collaborative work brings insights and networks that are made in the time of the Vine may prove useful in the forthcoming months.

Focus on energy that resolves, cast peace to end an argument or use prosperity energy to help you settle bills and pay off existing debts. Energy must be balanced with action now, so use nature’s last burst of energy, visible in the vibrant autumn colors, to inspire you to complete projects begun earlier in the year.

Invest in your health by eating foods packed with vitamin C to stave off colds as the weather declines. Boost your energy levels with herbal drinks.

Use your energy during the month of the Vine to restore peace to troubled relationship and to bring prosperity and fertility into your life.

Note:

The Celtic word for Blackberry, taken from the ogham tree letters is ‘muin’. Sometimes, people will interpret ‘muin’ as ‘vine’ – but a vine as we now know it (a grapevine) was not a native plant in Celtic Britain and Ireland where the ogham evidence we have derives from – and so it is now more commonly thought that ‘muin’ refers to the Blackberry. Both fruits (grape and Blackberry) are used in money energy and are linked to fairies.

Vine the Equalizer

The Vine is another shapeshifter of the Celtic astrology. This is due to the fact that people born under this sign are born within the autumnal equinox. This makes them unpredictable, contradictive, and often indecisive. They can see the good and bad in each story, which makes it hard for them to pick a side. However, they are always sure when it comes to their taste in food, wine, music and art – they have a soft spot for guilty pleasures. Vines have a thing for luxury and refinement. Willow and Hazel can suit their classic style.

They are quiet, discreet, they never draw attention on them, they do not raise their voice and very often you do not notice when they are around. Nevertheless, the saying “Still waters run deep” describes them well. Hazel people are usually very intelligent, they have great memory, good intuition and the ability to learn quickly. They come across as plain but potent people. Exactly this type of people used to be considered a saint or blamed for witchcraft a few centuries ago.

Hazel people usually achieve their goals easily because they are able to take advantage of all their abilities. In relation to others, they tend to be friendly, helpful and easy-going. They can be very patient, understanding and selfless, and they are very generous to their friends. They always start everything with love and goodness because they believe that is the easiest way to achieve things.

Thanks to their foresight and high intelligence they often come up with unusual ideas and solutions that they have thought through to the smallest details.

Although Hazel people tend to be successful in life, they do not like to be spoiled by luxury. They are perfectly adaptable and even little things can make them happy. Fluctuations in their mood are seldom caused by external conditions. So there are moments in their lives when it is better to get out of their way. The same is true about their love life; most of the time they are loving partners, but sometimes they become very grumpy. Still, life with Hazel people is interesting and pleasant, albeit full of change. They are usually reliable and faithful partners in marriage.

Magick and Lore of the Bramble

Our Celtic ancestors valued the Bramble (or Blackberry) as a symbol of spiritual wisdom, emotions, and initiation.

The Bramble shows us flexibility, tenacity, and vigor – and also the importance of connection as the Bramble branches reach out and connect all the other trees and bushes in their thorny embrace. Blackberry is health-giving and healing – a nourishment for our body and soul.

Blackberry is about good preparation (gathering for winter), a healthy reward for hard work and risks taken (blackberrying at risk of prickles), and the importance of being ready to act at the right time (picking brambles when they are ripe, but before they are taken by the witches’ or fairies’ poison).

It was often advised to pick blackberries only in the waxing moon, to gain protection from ill-will.
Many traditions over the correct timing of Blackberry picking have arisen, most focusing on the specific date after which blackberries should never be picked – variously advising dates from the end of August, Michaelmas Day (29 September), or the end of September, or Halloween (31st October) as the blackberries will have been poisoned, spat on, or peed on by fairies, witches, or even the Devil.

It’s likely that the varying dates relate to how far north or south the blackberries grow, so relating to the change in weather – as the late crop of blackberries taste sour in any case and you could certainly believe that they’d been poisoned by witches (or worse, peed on by fairies) were you to taste one.

Elsewhere, blackberries were never eaten – especially in France and Majorca where they believed brambles were made into Christ’s crown of thorns – while in Brittany, it was because they were the food of the fairy folk.

Magick and Lore of the Vine

The Vine month is a time of great harvest — from the grapes of the Mediterranean to the fruits of the northern regions, the Vine produces fruits we can use to make that most wondrous concoction called wine.

The Vine is fast-growing, prolific, and none like each other. They are all unique and adapt with things growing around them. The most valued vine was the grape vine, as it was the source for wine.

The vine is the only plant in the Celtic Tree Calendar that is not native to Britain, although it features in much Bronze Age art. It was cultivated by migrants from Southern Europe.

The name vine comes from the word ‘viere’, meaning ‘to twist’. This refers to the Druidic concept of spiritual development.

A Spell For Peace

Use your energy to bring peace to a troubled relationship or to help heal any conflict or dispute. You will need:

  • A white candle
  • A white ribbon
  • Pen and paper

Hold the candle and say, “I dedicate this candle to peace.”

Write a list of grievances that caused the conflict. Light the candle and focus on sending love to the other party. Burn the list in the flame saying, “For the sake of peace, I let it go.”

Light the candle for a few moments each night and focus on peace. Tie the ribbon to a Bramble or grapevine. When the leaves have all fallen, peace will be restored.

Sources:

There is a lot to celebrate in September. This is a list of pretty much everything that goes on during the ninth month of the year. Many of these dates change from year to year. The days that change are marked with this » symbol.

September Lore and General Info

Astronomical Events

Astrological Events

Depending on which astrological system you adhere to, these are the signs that show up in September of 2021. Be aware that some of these dates will vary from year to year. Unlike the Sun signs which might just shift by 1 or 2 days, the dates of the various Moon signs will vary widely from year to year. The same holds true for the Chinese Zodiac. The Celtic Tree Signs are based on an arbitrary system and stay the same from year to year.

The September Sun begins in Virgo and finishes up in Libra:

The moon cycles through the signs as follows:

You will notice that the Moon might begin the day in one sign and by the end of the day may have moved into another sign, so timing matters if you are wanting to be precise.

The Celtic Tree Signs in September:
  • Aug 5 thru  Sept 1: Month of the Hazel Tree
  • Sept 2 thru Sept- 29: Month of the Vine
  • Sept 30 thru Oct- 27: Month of the Ivy
  • Sept 21 thru Autumn Equinox: Aspen/Poplar
The Alternative Celtic Zodiac is as follows:
  • Pine: Aug 25 – Sept 3
  • Willow: Sept 4 – Sept 13
  • Lime: Sept 14 – Sept 22
  • Alder: Sept 23 (Autumnal Equinox)
  • Hazel: Sept 24 – Oct 2
The Chinese Calendar and Zodiac

We are currently in the year of the Ox (sometimes referred to as the Cow).  Each Month is also assigned a specific animal. Here’s what shows up in September 2021.

  • Monkey » Aug 7 – Sep 6 (Chinese Zodiac – Stem Branch Calendar)
  • Monkey » Aug 8 – Sep 6  (Lunar Calendar – 7th Month)
  • Chicken » Sept 7 – Oct 7 (Chinese Zodiac – Stem Branch Calendar)
  • Chicken » Sept 7 – Oct 5 (Lunar Calendar – 8th Lunar Month)

Note: The traditional Chinese Astrology birth chart is built by the Chinese Stem Branch Calendar, not the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which I think is really confusing.  Because of a difference in time zones, the lunar months will have a different pattern between China and the USA.

Lucky and Unlucky Days

You might want to plan moving, traveling, major purchases, court dates, and weddings around these dates, avoiding the unlucky days and utilizing the lucky ones. Interestingly, the 18th of September is both lucky and unlucky.

  • These are the lucky days in September:
    4, 8, 17, 18 and 23.
  • These are the unlucky days in September:
    9, 10, 16, and 18.

Fatal Days

The third day of the month September
And tenth bring evil to each member.

Holidays and Holy Days

Many of the holidays begin on the eve of the night before and end on the eve of the day of. It’s also important to remember that the dates of archaic festivals and feast days may vary widely depending on the source.

September 2

September 4

  • 4: Ludi Romani

September 5

September 6

September 7

  • 7 » The Noumenia
  • » Rosh Hashanah

September 8

September 9

  • 9: Double Ninth Day (alternatively celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th Lunar month)
  • 9 thru 15: The Rishi Stars appear

September 11

September 13

September 16

  • 16 » Yom Kippur

September 17

September 19

  • 19: The Fast of Thoth – this day-long fast honors the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic.

September 20

  • 20 » Keirō no Hi – Respect for the Aged Day  (Japan)
  • 20 » Chinese Moon Festival -The Festival of Chang O, on the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox. Some Chinese celebrate this day as the moon’s birthday.

September 21

  • 21 » Sukkot
  • 21: Birthday of Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom also known as Sophia
  • 21: The Feast of the Divine Life – honors the great goddess in her three-fold aspect as mother (creator), daughter (renewer), and dark mother (the absolute)

September 22

September 29

Saint Days

There is a surprising amount of magick associated with Saint days. This is a very short list of the Saint days in September, there are many many more. As time goes by I may end up listing them all, but for now, this is what I have.

  • 21: Nativity of Blessed Mary

Recipes For September

Many more seasonal recipes, including recipes for new and full moon ceremonies, ancient Greek and Roman holidays, Asian festivals and etc can be found here: Seasonal Recipes.

Notes:

Any September lore, almanac, astrological, and celebration dates that have been shared after this post was published can be found by searching the September posts to see what’s new.

A lot of work went into this post which was compiled from various sources by Shirley Twofeathers for The Pagan Calendar, you may repost and share without karmic repercussions, but only if you give me credit and a link back to this website. Blessed be.

If an image has posted without permission please leave a comment and I will happily remove it, replace it, give credit, link love ~ whatever you prefer.

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I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!

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