April
The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools’ Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
— Poor Robin’s Almanac (1790)
The practice of playing tricks on April 1st dates back to 15th century France. Before that time, New Year’s Day was March 25, with a full week of partying and exchanging gifts until April 1. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar moved New Year’s Day to January 1. This was so unpopular that people began sending officials on “fool’s errands” in retaliation. The term “All Fools,” was probably meant as a deliberate stab at All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2) Day.
Another source reports that when the dates changed, many peasants paid surprise visits to their neighbors on April 1 to trick them into thinking it was still the start of the New Year. Gradually the custom spread around the world, and people look forward to this day as an opportunity to play tricks on their friends and colleagues.
April Fools Superstitions:
- It is considered bad luck to attempt to trick someone after noon on April 1.
- Children born on April 1 are believed to be lucky, except when they gamble.
- If a man gets married on April 1, his wife will dominate him.
- It is considered bad luck to become annoyed when someone plays a practical joke on you on April Fools Day.
- If a young lady plays a practical joke on an eligible man on April Fool’s Day, it is a sign that they will marry.
Weather folklore states:
“If it thunders on All Fools Day,
It brings good crops of corn and hay.”
Around the world:
“All Fools’ Day” is practiced in many parts of the world with practical jokes, hoaxes, and sending people on a fool’s errand.
In Scotland, April Fools Day lasts 48 hours. Day two is know as Taily Day, and pranks involving the posterior are played. The victim’s practical joke is referred to as “hunting the gowk”; the gowk is an extinct cuckoo bird. When used here it mean foolish person.
Dinna laugh, dinna smile.
Hunt the gowk another mile.
In France, victims of the prank is the “poisson d’Avril” or “fish of April.” The fish in April are newly hatched and easily caught. French children enjoy taping a picture of a fish on their friends back and yelling out “Poisson dAvril!” when it is found.
In the United States, pranks are played on just about everybody. Pranks range from the standard “Your shoe is untied”, to some very creative and elaborate ideas. The only “rule” is that no one should be harmed. Corporations, newspapers, and television stations will also play practical jokes on the public on April Fools Day.
Magickal Applications:
Pranks and fun aside, this is a good day to consider the nature of the Fool and his associations with The Craft.
Fools have long been considered to be blessed by the Gods; indeed it used to be thought lucky to meet one on the way to work. The Fool is the first card in the Tarot where he represents the start of the magical journey and the step into the unknown. He is also still represented in decks of ordinary playing cards by the Joker or Jester.
The Fool is also linked with the Jester in his role of storyteller, or Bard, who traveled around taking news from place to place. Not only that but with connotations of riotous frivolity he is associated with fertility festivals and may appear as the Teaser in midsummer Rites.
His staff or wand with bells relates back to the sticks which were used to beat fertility into the population at the festivals of Pan. Hence he is linked with the trickster Gods Puck and Loki.
To gain a greater understanding of the Fool take this card from a Tarot deck and place one green and one red candle on either side. Light them and focus on the image before you. As you meditate on it, consider the journey of the Fool:
- Where is he going?
- Who will he meet?
From: The Real Witches’ Year, Encyclopedia of Superstitions, and various other sources.
I was unable to find any information on the dates of Geranium day for 2017, and it’s possible that this day is no longer celebrated. The two collection dates for 2016 were Friday 22 April and Friday 20 May 2016.
The English sell geraniums today to collect funds for charities, specifically those that support services for the blind. Since the 1920’s this has been a day in England to collect money for the blind. It represents a joint effort by a number of charities dedicated to helping the blind and is organized by the Greater London Fund for the Blind.
Although at one time real geraniums were given to those who made donations, these days contributors receive a sticker with a red geranium on it. And there are now two collection days—one in the City of London in April and one in the greater London area in May.
The choice of the geranium—a flower without a strong scent—seems unusual as a symbol for the blind, but it may have been chosen simply because the poppy ( see Memorial Day) and the rose ( see Alexandra Rose Day) were already being used for fund-raising purposes. It may also have been chosen for its symbolic meaning.
In the language of flowers, geraniums represent solace – which is what any act of charity stimulates today. It provides hope to those in need. Even if your pocket is empty, extend assistance to someone or something in need. Offer to help an elderly friend with chores, give some returnable bottles to a homeless person, act as a big brother or sister to orphans, give water to a stray cat. Benevolence has many forms, and it makes the world a much nicer place in which to live.
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. Most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from April 19 to May 28. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
Source: SeaSky
The Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. The shower runs annually from April 16-25. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
Source: SeaSky
On April 15th, every year, the Ancient Romans held the festival of Fordicia, also called Hordicidia. This festival was in honor of Tellus, or Terra Mater, the Roman personification of the earth.
Terra Mater or Tellus Mater was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology, with both names meaning “Mother Earth” (a common metaphorical expression for the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life) in Latin. She was associated with Ceres in respect to growing crops, was responsible for the productivity of farmland, and was also associated with marriage, motherhood, pregnant women, and pregnant animals. Her Greek counterpart is Gaia.
During the festivities, a pregnant cow was sacrificed, the calf fetus burned and the ashes saved for the Parilia festival (an agricultural festival performed annually on April 21). The whole event was governed by the Vestal Virgins and the Pontifex Maximus.
The purpose of the sacrifice was to assure the fertility of the planted grain already growing in the womb of Mother Earth in the guise of Tellus, to whom the sacrifice was offered. As with certain other rituals over which the Vestals presided, the unborn calf is a liminal or mediating being: not yet born, but living; not a full-fledged victim, but sacrificed. The role of the Vestals emphasizes their importance in linking through the ritual reuse of elements the Earth’s fertility, the health and safety of the flocks, and the security of the city, including and especially its military security against invasion.
A similar spring festival in China was witnessed in 1804 by the British ambassador to China, John Barrow. At the temple of Earth, a large porcelain cow was carried in procession then shattered to reveal several small cow-images inside. These were distributed among the people as tokens of a good growing season. Fowler speculated that the Chinese rite was in origin an animal sacrifice similar to that of the Fordicidia.
A Ritual For Tellus Mater
- Color: Green
- Element: Earth
- Offering: Go outside the community and find land to clean up.
- Daily Meal: Vegetarian
Altar: Upon a green cloth place several large stones of different sorts, some in a clay bowl of water; a clay bowl of salt, a loaf of thick, nourishing black bread with herbs and vegetable gratings in it, a chalice of herbal tea, boughs of greenery, and four green candles.
Invocation to Tellus Mater
Our Mother lies beneath our feet
And holds up our every step.
There is nowhere that we can walk
Where She does not lie beneath us.
There is nothing that we can eat
That will nourish our bodies,
Those bodies that are made from Her clay,
That does not come from Her
And Her other children.
We are born of Her
As we are born of woman,
Each and every one of us.
No matter who we are,
No matter where we walk,
No matter what we think,
We are still Her children.
Hail, Mother of All Things!
Hail, bounteous one, giver of life,
And taker of life back into your breast.
From you we all proceed
And to you we shall all return.
Chant:
The Earth is our mother, we must take care of her,
The Earth is our mother, we must take care of her,
Hey and a ho and a ho na na
Hey and a ho and a ho na na
(All join hands while chanting and move in a spiral dance around the room, four times in and out. Then the bread and tea is passed around. It is important that much work be done on the Earth today, both in and out of the community’s land.)
Sources:
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