May 1, 2025 (Beltane)

Our Ancestors celebrated May Day, the first day of May, because it was welcomed as the beginning of summer.  It is celebrated with flowers and ribbons and dancing.  The day was popular festival to signal that fields had been ploughed and the seeding was complete.

The celebration was to bring forth the Gods/Goddesses to bless the seeding and thereby ensure a great harvest.  For some Ancestors, May 1 was a celebration of fertility, and this was a popular day to court and confirm your love to the man or the woman who held your heart.

In today's world,  May Day is just another day.  You can make it special by going out into Nature to find places to be at peace with yourself.

More posts about May 1.

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/05/may-1-beltane.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2024/05/celebrating-may-1-may-day.html

Blessings,

Judy

September 2024 and Autumnal Equinox Dates

September arrives and tells us that the summer has ended.  September tells us that we must finish our harvesting because in several weeks, we will hit the Fall Equinox or Autumnal Equinox and then the possibility of snow.

Fall Equinox in our area always signals that winter is right around the corner.  The day signals even shorter daylight and longer night.  It is the quarter turning of the Earth.  For many, it is a time to give thanks for the bounty of the harvest.  When so many live in the cities now, the celebration of the harvesting of good, nourishing, natural food is not practiced.  For city dwellers, it is like giving thanks to Superstore or other grocery chain.

We have lost much of the art of celebrating the passage of one season to another.  A passing season is a big event - much like a birthday.  It is a time of contemplation, wild celebration, and fantastic food all rolled into one day.  Even going outside and standing on a balcony or going to a park to give thanks to Nature and the beings that care for all things in Nature is a great way to celebrate Fall Equinox.

If you want to say words as part of your celebration, try these three lines:

We give thanks for the harvest.
We give thanks for abundance
We give thanks for the blessings in our lives through the year. 

Here are the autumnal Equinox Dates from 2024 to 2027.

Autumnal Equinox Dates

Year	Autumnal Equinox (Northern Hemisphere)	Autumnal Equinox (Southern Hemisphere)
2024	Sunday, September 22	Tuesday, March 19
2025	Monday, September 22	Thursday, March 20
2026	Tuesday, September 22	Friday, March 20
2027	Thursday, September 23	Saturday, March 20

Note: Dates listed above are based on Eastern Time (UTC-5). Due to time zones, the date of the equinox may differ by +/- one calendar day in your location.

-from the site almanac.com.

Many blessings,

Judyd

New Moons and Full Moons in 2023

               Picture is from Wallpaper Cave - pictures of the moon

I have been a fan of the full moon and the new moon since I was in my twenties.  I marvel at the ebb and flow of the Moon’s pull on people, on oceans and seas, and on Nature. Years in the past, my husband and I celebrated the moon changes with our friends in celebrations and meditations.  

I love the full Moon, and the feel of the pull of the energy.  The night of the full Moon is a wonderful time to meditate and to do wishes for the coming month.  Goals set at the full Moon have a mysterious way of manifesting in different ways.  

If the Moon calls to you, especially on January 6th for the Cold Wolf Moon, you may be interested in these dates in the chart below.  This chart comes from https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_phases/2023.  

Unfortunately, the chart is missing the names of the Full Moon each month.  You can look up the names of the Moon by Googling or by looking at the Farmers’ Almanac.

Many blessings and may your wishes on the Full Moon be blessed.

Judy

2023 Lunar Phases — Calgary (America/Edmonton) Time
New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Third Quarter	Lunation
		Jan. 6, Fri 04:09 PM	Jan. 14, Sat 07:13 PM	1237
Jan. 21, Sat 01:55 PM	Jan. 28, Sat 08:20 AM	Feb. 5, Sun 11:30 AM	Feb. 13, Mon 09:03 AM	1238
Feb. 20, Mon 12:09 AM	Feb. 27, Mon 01:06 AM	Mar. 7, Tue 05:42 AM	Mar. 14, Tue 08:10 PM	1239
Mar. 21, Tue 11:26 AM	Mar. 28, Tue 08:33 PM	Apr. 5, Wed 10:37 PM	Apr. 13, Thu 03:12 AM	1240
Apr. 19, Wed 10:15 PM	Apr. 27, Thu 03:21 PM	May 5, Fri 11:36 AM	May 12, Fri 08:29 AM	1241
May 19, Fri 09:55 AM	May 27, Sat 09:23 AM	June 3, Sat 09:43 PM	June 10, Sat 01:32 PM	1242
June 17, Sat 10:39 PM	June 26, Mon 01:51 AM	July 3, Mon 05:40 AM	July 9, Sun 07:49 PM	1243
July 17, Mon 12:33 PM	July 25, Tue 04:08 PM	Aug. 1, Tue 12:33 PM	Aug. 8, Tue 04:29 AM	1244
Aug. 16, Wed 03:38 AM	Aug. 24, Thu 03:58 AM	Aug. 30, Wed 07:37 PM	Sept. 6, Wed 04:22 PM	1245
Sept. 14, Thu 07:40 PM	Sept. 22, Fri 01:32 PM	Sept. 29, Fri 03:58 AM	Oct. 6, Fri 07:49 AM	1246
Oct. 14, Sat 11:55 AM	Oct. 21, Sat 09:30 PM	Oct. 28, Sat 02:24 PM	Nov. 5, Sun 01:38 AM	1247
Nov. 13, Mon 02:27 AM	Nov. 20, Mon 03:50 AM	Nov. 27, Mon 02:16 AM	Dec. 4, Mon 10:51 PM	1248
Dec. 12, Tue 04:32 PM	Dec. 19, Tue 11:40 AM	Dec. 26, Tue 05:33 PM		1249

Winter Solstice 2022

 

                                                   Winter Deer - By D. Hirst November 2022

Over the last twenty years, I have attended quite a few winter solstice events and hosted a dozen or so winter solstice ceremonies with my husband.  We love the time of the longest night as the celebration of the closing of Nature’s year and the welcoming of the new year ahead.  There is excitement about moving from a short amount of daylight to a day that gets longer light.

Past celebrations start with smudging all the guests and then creating a sacred space to hold the ceremony. After the sacred space is invoked, I lead several short meditations, we have some drumming and fire ceremony - even if it is the fireplace - and close with a sharing circle and then closing the sacred space.  After the ceremony, we have food and chatting and laughing.  

The ceremony, for me, is a tradition that helps me keep my spiritual balance through out the year.  It is a time where the camaraderie of the Tribe of people that attend our gatherings increases the energy of the prayers and meditations that we do, and, increases the energy in our house. 

I am grateful for our celebrations and togetherness.  I wish you peace, love, and sanctuary at this Winter Solstice.

Blessings,

Judy