April Magick and Lore

April gets its name from the goddess Aprilis, who is the Romans’ version of Aphrodite. Her name means “to open,” which is exactly what Aprilis does… she opens the path to playfulness and the way to personal enrichment.

We all know the rhyme “April showers bring May flowers.” So consider what energies you want Aprilis to sprinkle on you this month for personal flowering. Overall, any magical efforts aimed toward growth, love, pleasure, improvements, and developing one’s inner child will benefit from working this month.

Because the Christian holiday of Easter sometimes falls in this month, the Anglo-Saxons and Franks called it Easter Month; of course, the word Easter comes originally from the name of the Pagan goddess Eostre, deity of Spring, fertiilty, and new life. The Romans called this month Aprilis, a time of unfolding leaves and flowers.

April was the second month of the Roman calendar, before January and February were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern hemisphere and autumn in the Southern hemisphere.

Correspondences for April:

• Nature Spirits: Plant faeries
• Herbs: Basil, chives, dragons blood, geranium, thistle
• Colors: Crimson red, gold
• Flowers: Daisy, sweetpea
• Scents: Pine, bay, bergamot, patchouli
• Stones: Ruby, garnet, sard
• Trees: Pine, bay, hazel
• Animals: Bear, wolf
• Birds: Hawk, magpie
• Deities: Kali, Hathor, Anahita, Ceres, Ishtar, Venus, Bast
• Birth stone: Diamond
• Birth flower: Daisy or sweet pea
• Zodiac Signs: Aries (until April 19) and Taurus (April 20 onwards).

Power Flow:

Energy into creating and producing; return balance to the nerves; change; self confidence; self reliance; take advantage of opportunities; work on temper and emotional flare-ups and selfishness.

April Festivities:

The Megalesia of Cybele, who was also known as Magna Mater (Great Mother) in both Phyrgia and Rome, celebrated the arrival of this goddess in Rome. In 204 BCE, Rome was in the midst of a great war with Hannibal. Things were going very badly for the Roman legions. Finally, the Romans sent a delegation to the Oracle at Delphi for an interpretation of their sacred Sibylline Books. This passage said that foreing invaders could only be driven away when the Mother of Mount Ida was transferred from Pessinus to Rome.

The oracle sent the delegation to the king of Pergamum in Asia Minor, where they were told that a black meteroite embodying the spirit of Cybele was. Pine trees from Mt. Ida, sacred to the goddess, were made into a ship, and the stone was transported from one sanctuary to another until it reached Rome. In about a year, Hannibal left Italy forever.

The Japanese Flower Festival has now become a celebration of Buddha’s birth. In the older celebration, however, the people gathered wildflowers for the family shrine. Those in the Shinto faith placed wooden markers on the graves and said prayers.

The Roman festival of Cerealia celebrated the return of Proserpina to the Earth goddess Ceres. Our word “cereal” comes from the name Ceres. It was the time of planting grain. Ceres was the Roman equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.The festival of Cerealia was held for seven days from mid-to-late April, but exact dates are uncertain.

Feriae Latinae was also held in April, with the date varying. Other ancient Roman observances include Veneralia, Fordicidia, Parilia, Vinalia Urbana, Robigalia, and Serapia.

The Egyptians called their land Khemennu, or Land of the Moon. Plutarch wrote that they believed the Moon to be the Mother of the Universe. Although the goddess Bast was primarily considered to be a deity of the gentle Sun, she was also connected with the Moon.

Floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, and lasted until May 3. However, these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. The Floralia is still celebrated in many Central and Eastern European countries. It is a time to honor the goddess of flowers. People dress in gaily decorated costumes and wear flowers in their hair. Secretly delivering baskets of flowers on May Day is a remnant of this old festival.

During this month was also the Incan Ayrihua or Camay Inca Raymi, the Festival of the Inca.

April Weather Lore

It is said that if early April is foggy,
rain in June will make lanes boggy.

April weather:
rain and sunshine, both together.

April showers bring May flowers.

A dry April
Not the farmer’s will.
April wet
Is what he would get.

“If it rains on Easter Sunday,
it will rain on the next seven Sundays.”

More April Lore:

St George’s day is the twenty-third of the month; and St Mark’s Eve, with its superstition that the ghosts of those who are doomed to die within the year will be seen to pass into the church, falls on the twenty-fourth.

In China the symbolic ploughing of the earth by the emperor and princes of the blood took place in their third month, which frequently corresponds to April. In Finnish April is huhtikuu, meaning slash-and-burn moon, when gymnosperms for beat and burn clearing of farmland were felled.

In Slovene, the most established traditional name is mali traven, meaning the month when plants start growing.

The month Aprilis had 30 days; Numa Pompilius made it 29 days long; finally Julius Caesar’s calendar reform made it again 30 days long, which was not changed in the calendar revision of Augustus Caesar in 8 BC.

The Lyrids meteor shower appears on April 16-April 26 each year, with the peak generally occurring on April 22. Eta Aquariids meteor shower also appears in April. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with peak activity on or around May 6. The Pi Puppids appear on April 23, but only in years around the parent comet’s perihelion date. The Virginids also shower at various dates in April.

The theme for April

The theme for April is momentum. When something has momentum it takes more of an effort to change its course, and less of an effort to move it in the direction it is already going. This is a tricky month as momentum will take hold in whatever direction you happen to be putting your focus and energy.

From:

• Moon Magick
• Lena Stevens, The Power Path
• Various other sources