Working Aphrodite’s magic at the April pink moon

Aphrodite means "arisen from the foam" in ancient Greek

April is her month – and by her, I mean Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Many believe February is Aphrodite’s month because of all the love energies that swirl around Valentine’s Day, but February is Brigid’s month, the goddess of the sacred flame who burns her way out of winter into the first awakenings of spring. In April we find ourselves firmly in middle spring and Aphrodite’s world is awake and alive in color, flesh and blood. Her passions stir within us now and call us to our sacred work. April is a wind month, with lots of momentum and energy to propel us forward.

Aphrodite’s invocation this month is one reason that the April full moon is called the Pink Moon. It’s also because the flowers coloring our spring landscapes are so often found in hues of pink. The pink moon this year fell on Thursday, April 25. I have just known about it all, I mean, that Goddess Aphrodite's magic works at the April pink moon (I already knew that April was Aphrodite's month), that April pink moon (the Pink/ Sprout/ Egg/ Spring/ Alder/ Aries/ April full moon) takes place precisely in April, that it is not necessarily the one following the Vernal/Spring Equinox (like the year I was born in), and thus, that the full moon I celebrated was not the April pink moon... but the Moon of Ostara or the Hare Moon! (oh my! it all makes sense now), reading the article on Sage Goddess. I am so happy the pieces of the jigsaw get to fall into place so that I can keep moving forward on my spiritual path. Thanks! )O(

Aphrodite's sacred animals: the sea turtle, the dove, the myrtle (innocence, purity), the swan, the swallow, the goose, a bird called iynx, the bees, the goats, the dolphin (the messenger of love), sparrow, goose, hare (a gift of love). More on April is Aphrodite's Month.

The Rebellious Daughter by Lucy Campbell

Source:
Sage Goddess, "Working Aphrodite’s magic at the April pink moon"

Suggested links:

Journeying to the Goddess, "Pink Moon - April"

Wise Witches Society, "Full Moon Names and Their Meanings"

Wicca, "Animal Guides"
Witches Lore, "Familiars"

- Recapitulations: April's (from the latin verb aperire meaning "to open" "begining of new life and new growth") Full Moon, Aphrodite ("foam born" "arisen from the foam" in ancient Greek; in Greek, Aphro (April) is short for Aphrodite, and the Greek form aphrós means "foam") Full Moon (or the Rise of Persephone for the Romans), Ostara Moon (lunar holiday celebrating the Return of the Spring Maiden Goddess), Pink (phlox) Moon, Budding Trees Full Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Vernal Full Moon, Spring Full Moon (the first Full Moon after/following the Vernal/Spring Equinox, that is to say, the first Full Moon of Spring. Moon in Libra/Sun in Aries), the Paschal Full Moon, was on March 27, 2013.

ALWAYS STAY FOXY

Freya, my Lady

Freya - Goddess of Love and Fertility

She-Falcon!

The moon sails through the trees.

Freyja!

I call the weeper of gold!

Lady of Sorcery!

I stand before you unafraid.

Keeper of the Brisingamen!

Reveal to me secrets of knot and braid.

Freyja! Moon Goddess! Queen of the Valkyries!

Give me the key to deep magicks...

(from "Moon Magick" by D.J. Conway) 

freya necklace

Freya is the Goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, wealth, divination and magic. This Goddess belongs to group of Gods and Goddesses known as the Vanir, who were associated with nature, wild places and animals and unseen realms. She's simultaneously a spirit of fertility and death, beauty and war. Freya often manifests as a woman, although as a shaman Goddess she owns a magical cloak made of falcon feathers that enables her to shape-shift into a bird and travel into the Fairy World or Otherworld. She also has the power to transform other people into animals (Circe), which were the familiars of witches, with whom Freya has much in common. Cat, falcon, heron, sparrow, swallow, geese, boar, bear are sacred creatures to the Norse Earth-goddess Freya. Alder and cypress were considered magical trees and also associated to her. 

She is the daughter of Njord and Herta, wich meand she's daughter of Earth and Sea. Freya is identified as a Witch. When she first arrives in Asgard, the Aesir's Realm, she teaches them how to craft charms and potions. It is said that Freya introduced Woden to runes and Shamanism. Also it's said that Völgas and Valkyries were her priestesses.

She travels in a chariot, pulled by two large grey lynxes looking cats, named Bee-gold, wich means "honey" and Tree-gold, "amber". They symbolize Freya's twin qualities of fecundity and ferocity. She rides a boar into battle, as does her brother Freyr.

Friday was named after Old Norse Frigg or Freyja, who was identified with Venus, the Roman Aphrodite (the Greeks called the day "Hemera Aphrodites" or Day of Aphrodite). 

- Source: A Witches' Handbook

Lesser Kestrel (Halcón Europeo)

Avistado en Trujillo, Cáceres jeje..

Dreaming : The Hawk and The Fox

chaos. destruction. clash of opposites

This is the image I dreamt of .. and this is the vision (interpretation) I had the moment I woke up:

*Tree : Alder : Water/Fire

*Animal: Birth Totem or Animal Spirit: Falcon or Red Hawk (Sign. Power. Protector) Guardian Animal: (Red) Fox (Teacher. Guide. Counselor. A Friend Found in a Fox)

*Goddess: Frigg (Frigga) (indoors) (Autumn and Winter) (Winter Solstice) Frija (Freya) (outdoors) (Spring and Summer) (Festiva of Freya)

FIRE ~~~~ FALCON ~~~~~ FREYA

WATER ~~~~ FOX ~~~~ FRIGG

Duality: time of balance. Ostara.

balance. harmony. illusory antagonists

Falcon

Birth Dates: March 21st - April 19th

Earth Influence: The Awakening Time

Totem: Eagle

Direction: North-East

Influencing Wind: The East Winds

Element: Fire

Elemental: Hawk (fire) Clan

Function: To Initiate

Birth & Animal Totem: Falcon

Plant Totem: Dandelion

Stone Totem: Opal

Polarity Totem: Crow

Affinity Color: Yellow/Green

Musical Vibration: C Sharp

Personality: Active, Forceful, Impetuous

Feelings: Quickly Aroused

Nature: Impulsive

Intention: Activity, New Beginnings

Positive Traits: Enterprising, Pioneering, Adventurous, Affable

Negative Traits: Selfish, Egotistical, Impatient

Sex Drive: Easily Aroused, Quick, Fiery and Passionate

Compatibility's: Salmons and Owls

Conscious Desire: To lead, manage to head adventure

Subconscious Desire: Learning through personal experience

Life Path: Establishment of individuality through discernment

Spiritual Alchemy: Yang Predominates

Should Cultivate: Patience, Persistence, Compassion

Should Avoid: Vanity, Conceit, Intolerance

http://www.amberwood.org/indian.htm
Taken from "Earth Medicine, a Shamanic way to Self Discovery" by Kenneth Meadows

Falcon Totem (American Kestrel)

Keywords: observant, confident, open, direct and honest. Falcon People are passionate and independent, spontaneous and uncomplicated. Left to his/her own devices, Falcon can be vain, rude, intolerant, impatient and over-sensitive.

Falcon Animal Totem Meanings

*Superiority

*Spirit

*Light

*Power

*Focus

*Prophecy

*Intuition and magic

*Sacred femenine energies

*Freedom

*Aspiration

*Intensity

*Determination

Falcon is sacred to Norse Goddess Frigg (Anglicized as Frigga), who kept her own set of falcon feathers. Freya's (the earlier Germanic Goddess Frija) sacred animals are the bear, falcon, horse, hare, raven, and the swan; she wears her spiritual falcon cloak to shape-shift into a bird and travel shamanic journey. Frigg and Freya were only nominally distinct figures by the late Viking Age, when our sources were recorded, and that these two figures, who had formerly been the same deity, were still practically the same personage in everything but name.

In translation, Circe means falcon and in many myths She is associated with the bird of prey.

Little vixen asks for pampering!

Oooh love her <3

Turn to light

Hare Totem

Native American and Celtic shamanistic beliefs are strong on animal symbols. These symbols are referred to as "totem animals" or "power animals." You'll often hear the two referred to synonymously, but those that follow traditional Native beliefs explain that a totem animal is one that is with you for life, often an animal with whom you share a connection, either through interest in the animal or your resemblance to or shared characteristics of the animal in question. A power animal or spirit animal is a spirit in animal form that comes through with a specific lesson for you, and will change throughout the course of your life.

Hares are connected to both the earth element and to the lunar energies of the moon. The gestation period of a hare is 28 days, the same time as the moon. 

Its movements were sometimes used for divination. Associated with transformation ("wise women" or witches were believed to shape-shift into hares by moonlight, and Goddess Eostre, too, was a shape-shifter, taking the shape of a hare at each full moon) the receiving of hidden teachings, and intuitive messages.

Hares are quick with the ability to twist and turn. As a totem or power animal the hare teaches us to aim for our dreams and not let anything get in our path. 

The hare is an independent, solitary animal that often lives alone. In modern society the loners of the world are often frowned upon, but history has proved these types of people to be invaluable and they should feel a sense of pride within themselves.

Unlike rabbits, hares cannot be tamed (although there is a domesticated rabbit which has the name hare, but is in fact a rabbit). They have a wild nature to them. They are the totem of people who like to run free. 

Hares have been associated with magic and the ability to walk between worlds and connect to the other world. The hare is a totem of mystery and misunderstanding. 

The hare is often seen as a trickster and to many people the trickster is seen as a negative trait. The trickster though may simply do things different to the norm. They may be the individual who stands out from the crowd and does things their way. The trickster is the one who will break rules and rebel; they are the sort of people that can create great changes within society. As with all attitude, the clue is how you use your power – the trickster archetypal can be cunning or foolish. They can be a power for good or a symbol of disruption. Tricksters often have two spirits that they present to the world. [They] can also be the hero. . . .

A Secret by Karen Davis

Y aquí "Moonlight and Hares", uno de los artículos más hermosos sobre la Liebre como animal totémico:

http://essitolling.wordpress.com/tag/hare-totem/

Ostara

A pesar de que hoy se celebra el Sabbat de Litha (Solsticio de Verano), yo lo que hice fue reconciliarme con el conjuro de mi nacimiento: Ostara. 

- Ya expliqué hace unos meses que, aunque actualmente se celebra el Sabbat de Ostara la noche del Equinoccio de Primavera, antiguamente se distinguía muy bien el Equinoccio de Primavera (21 Marzo) (Spring/Vernal Equinox): es el Festival de la Primavera (Spring Festival), cuando las horas de luz igualan a las de oscuridad, el primer día de Primavera y el día en el que empieza el primer signo del zodiaco, Aries.

- La noche de la primera Luna Llena que tiene lugar tras el Equinoccio de Primavera (the First Full Moon after/following the Spring/Vernal Equinox is the Moon of Ostara) es cuando se celebra el Festival de Ostara (Festival of Ostara*) (Sabbat de Ostara) en honor a la Diosa Lunar del Alba y la Primavera Ostara (Teutonic Goddess of Spring and the Dawn) (Dawn Spring Lunar Goddess Ostara) (Monday - Moon's Day,  Middle English monday or mone(n)day, Old English mon(an)dæg "day of the moon, Latin dies lunae "day of the moon, Ancient Greek hemera selenes "day of the moon", and I was born on Monday, in a year when that Monday on the calendar would coincide with Pasque (Easter) which is really Eostre) (Eostre's Day). Ostara is Old German while Eostre is Old English. The Christian mane of Easter is derived from it. Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic goddess Ostara. La Luna de Ostara (Ostara "Super Moon" or Moon of Ostara) se conoce también como la Luna Llena de Aries (Aries Full Moon), Luna de la Liebre (Hare Moon), Luna del Aliso (Celtic Tradition: Alder Moon and Guardian Fox) .. otros nombres, que no traduzco, son Egg Moon, Pink Moon, Sprout Moon ..

(Luna on Swan) Never Alone from Luna Hare Moon, A Magical Journey With The Goddess by Wendy Andrew

(Spring Equinox) Ostara from  Luna Hare Moon, A Magical Journey With The Goddess by Wendy Andrew

Dawn Spring Lunar Goddess Ostara from  Luna Hare Moon, A Magical Journey With The Goddess by Wendy Andrew

Moonbeam by Amanda Clark

Mother of the Dawn by Amanda Clark

Moonrakers by Karen Davis

Ostara Time of Balance - Alder Tree - Guardian Fox

The Domestic Witch

Mother Earth, it's Ostara and now is the hour, time to awaken and green and flower!

Spring Equinox Moon

Sakura (cherrry blossom) - from late March to mid April

Celebrate Ostara

Ostara Witch

Distintas culturas, distintos lugares, distintas connotaciones y asociaciones... A veces se tiende a asemejar deidades que en realidad difieren poco o bastante entre sí... Por ejemplo, en alguna ocasión he leído que el Festival de Ostara (Teutonic. Anglo-Saxon) es también el Festival de Freya (Norse). Estas dos deidades, aunque parecidas, no son iguales: 

- Freya is the Radiant Dawn Goddess of the Sun and Fire, the Solar (Brisingamen) Goddess of the Dawn and Spring. Fertility (erotic, sexual). Rebirth. Love. Beauty. War (she is also a warrior). Magic (Goddess of Witches). Freya abandones the Earth during the cold months of Winter and re-emerges in Spring. Friday -- The Day of Freya. Celebration on April 30 (May Day): Beltane.

- Ostara (Eostre) is the Lunar Goddess of the Dawn and Spring. Fertility (Hare is sacred to Goddess Ostara, a rather different animal from the easter bunnies! Hares are more prolific than reproductive). Rebirth. Love. 

- April. Aprilus. Aphrodite's Month. Love and Beauty.

- Frigg (Frigga) is the Norse Goddess of Beauty, Love, Marriage (Odin), Motherhood, Prophecy or Wisdom (inner power of the femenine) and the domestic arts. Frigga's "Wheel of Fate". December 21: Winter Solstice: Yule: Goddess Frigga labores, sitting at her spinning wheel weaving fates, to bring the Light to birth (childbirth) once more.

Habondia

I think that I finally got to know my beautiful Goddess/Queen as a Kitchen Witch! Shamanic journey work is one of a lifetime, and it is full of so wondrous adventures.. that come to soothe with their symbolic meanings the Witch's Foot.

Habondia (Anglo-Celtic): In Celtic Tradition, Habonde/Habondia is a witchy Goddess who represents abundance: an abundance of joy, health, prosperity, fertility, luck, magic and healing. A Goddess of Gardening and Horticulture, Hearth and Home, and thus a sister of Brighid. Her distant ancestress is Lilith. Habondia is Queen of the Fairies and Witches. Goddess associated with the Full Moon. The Goddess of the Full Moon is the Mother aspect of the Great Goddess.The Great Mother is seen as having moved through the seasons from the promise of new life in February (Imbolc) to the fulfilment of that promise with the harvest beginning in August. She is invoked during the Earth's most abundant time of the year for harvest and crops (in ancient times, this time of the year was around the Spring/Vernal Equinox and the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox, which is where the Pagan/Wiccan Spring Festival/Sabbat of Ostara: Festival of the Harvest, and the Moon of Ostara come from, with the symbols of eggs and hares). The sowing of the seed is conception, the sprouting is birth. The plant grows to the fullness of maturity, is one day harvested and eaten, and then its seeds are conceived again. The Goddess of the Harvest's green circle links generations of humans and other animals. She is sometimes known by the title, "Lady of Flowers and Delight." The Goddess Habondia is a combination of Hecate and Diana and was used by much later authors to refer to the Goddess of Witches. She appears to be a beautiful woman with dark braided hair. She wears a golden diadem or circlet with a star on her head, This signifies that she is queen of the fairies. Customarily, people honored Her by dancing around fires and drinking magical ritual brews to purity both body and soul.

"Habonde, bring abundance. Habonde, health and luck bring.
When through my lips this liquid passes, let my soul sing!"

Drink expectantly.

Lighting any fire source honors Habonde and draw Her attention to areas where you feel Her energies are needed. Light a candle or just a match (or light the stove or the fireplace). 

(Patricia Telesco: "365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess".)

http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/tag/witch/
http://www.magickaschool.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10428

Habondia by Amanda Clark

Habondia Queen of the Faerie Realm

The Cornucopia of Abundance

The Cornuscopia of Abundance, or Horn of Plenty, is a spiral-shaped Horn from which fruits, vegetables, flowers, and grains pour forth in limitless. On the earthy, organic plane, the Cornuscopia is a Symbol that reminds us that Mother Nature perpetually provides us with everything we need to nourish and sustain ourselves. There is always enough. While we are eating a grape, the Goddess is at work growing another grape. If you do not appeal an apple, there is another person who will enjoy it. The inexhaustible bounties of Mother Nature are to be enjoyed by all.

The Symbolism of the Cornuscopia extends to the mental and spiritual realms. In the mental realm, it symbolizes the boundless Abundance of ideas, thoughts, opportunities, choices, imaginings, notions and experiences with which one who wants to seek them in the pursue of one's own Destiny shall be provided. In the spiritual realm, the Cornuscopia symbolizes the infinite supply of Spiritual Guidance which is available for those who seek it and choose to follow the enlightment.

MoonsCrafts

...

Hi Adrienne :) Today is a mild, rainy Spring day, and I have just collected my Celtic Fox Necklace from the mailbox! Thank youuu for this very special token.
Brightest blessings )O(
Samanta

Paraíso vegetal

Éste es mi zorrito guardián... :)

Little Fox

Pixie Campbell, 2013.

ProVegan

En tu barbacoa con "salchichas", yo veo la vida, miseria y muerte de mis Hermanos Menores. Y me duele, entiéndeme. Y quizá lo que enfade a un veg***ano es el hecho de que sus vidas se podrían salvar si las personas decidieran querer saber la verdad: tanto las historias de horror a que se les somete en granjas industriales y mataderos por un bocadito de carne.. como el manifesto por parte de científicos, universidades, departamentos, asociaciones, experiencias personales, etc. que afirman que una dieta veg***ana no sólo es saludable, sino que es más sana que una dieta que incluye productos de origen animal (carne, leche, huevos, queso). De hecho, últimamente se habla de que quizá al fin y al cabo la más sana de las dietas sea la vegana. Siempre, claro está, que sea una alimentación completa y equilibrada, pues el sacar unos alimentos y no incluir otros aboca al fracaso en muchos casos la transición a una dieta veg***ana, y eso, lejos de ayudar el veganismo, reporta muy mala prensa (como los inútiles de la noticia del bebé), que desde luego no ayudan a generar la conciencia que necesitan tantos animalitos para ser liberados. Mientras para unos es tomarse el tiempo de acercarse a esta otra realidad, para ellos cada minuto de su espantosa existencia cuenta. Hay mucho que leer, mucho que estudiar, mucho que ver... para auto re-educarse: en ése sentido digo que me lo he currado y me lo curro, ¡no en el de que sea en absoluto complicado llevar una dieta libre de crueldad animal! Como de todo lo que naturalmente me hace falta, no me falta ningún nutriente (aminoácidos, vitaminas, minerales, carbohidratos, proteínas, grasas, etc.) y soy infinitamente más consciente de mi Alimentación. En ese sentido, repito, digo que me lo he currado.
Agradezco tu interés ni que sea por cinco minutos, pero es un tema en el que hay mucho en juego, y del que es mejor no empezar a hablar si no hay tiempo y ganas de sentarse a hablar y saber largo y tendido: si no, puede dar lugar a muchos errores y malentendidos que pueden provocar el efecto contrario de lo que muchos soñamos y deseamos de corazón.
Por cierto, la capacidad de matar para alimentarnos en caso de necesidad es equivalente a la de matar para defendernos. Pero si tenemos alternativa, sin duda será una opción moralmente más saludable para nosotros.

Los animales son mis amigos... y yo no me como a mis amigos. Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends. - George Bernard Shaw

El Hogar de Luci, ahora El Hogar Provegan Animal Sanctuary

El Hogar de las Hadas

Tras la puerta de entrada al Hogar de las Hadas, hay un inmenso jardín que es la entrada a un bosque infinito. En el Hogar de las Hadas conviven armoniosamente Hadas y Brujas (cuándo una Bruja se va definitivamente al Otro Mundo, ¿se convierte en Hada?... ¿son entonces las Hadas los Espíritus de los Antepasados de las Brujas?). Hay Brujas removiendo sus calderos, otras lavan ropa en el río, otras recogen flores, otras tejen sus ropas en los telares... (desde luego no veo a ninguna haciendo el tipo de tareas que se llevan a cabo en oficinas, colegios y demás sitios, que desde luego no son el lugar natural para una Bruja). Mientras, las Hadas, como abejitas, se afanan de aquí para allá, y llenan todo con el tintineo de sus alas y el reguero de brillo que dejan tras de sí cada vez que se mueven. Veo que las Brujas son todas hermosas, jóvenes unas y ancianas otras, y su pelo, suelto o recogido, rojo como el fuego o blanco como la nieve que trae el invierno, es siempre largo, y sus puntas prenden, igual que las puntas de sus faldas, cuando bailan alrededor de un fuego. Mujeres Antiguas y Sabias, protectoras del Legado Ancestral.

The Rebellious Daughter

The Rebellious Daughter, by Lucy Campbell

It must be me.. So lucky I was born under the protection of a Dawn Goddess of Death and Rebirth! This indigo girl found her path to the Soul Home <3

she gladdens the day, by Lucy Campbell

How do I see this painting? She (red haired Dawn Goddess Freya) (in opposition to her counterpart bringing in the night) and falcon (one of the animals associated with the Alder Moon and the Norse Goddess Freya was depicted wearing a magical cloak made of falcon feathers, with her "falcon wings" and using her "falcon-shape" in a furious chase, and many scholars believe that her name could well correspond to the word "falcon". It represents Her power to travel shamanically through different worlds and to journey for the messages or Soul Medicine or Shamanic journey work).

Celtic Fox Necklace crafted in Alder

You see this pendant???????? It's mine from today June 11 2013 at 7:30 pm. It is my Brisingamen. I still cannot believe it. It's SO special for me. It GATHERS it all. I'm deeply MOVED <3<3<3

Celtic Fox Necklace crafted from Alder - 

pagan, pendant, fox, red, spirals, witchcraft, witch, wicca, wiccan, 

shaman, shamanism, druid.

This gorgeous necklace has a Celtic Fox pyrographed on it surrounded by spirals.

The bead itself is 1.6 inches long. 

Alder is a gateway tree, magical and excellent in defensive magic. One of its associated animals is the fox, cunning, clever, a shapeshifter, the trickster, and most active during the in-between times of twilight and dawn. 

The wooden bead is accompanied on either side with ruby (for passion , protection and fearlessness), copper (for conduction of energy) and goldstone (gently uplifting, promotes vitality) beads interspersed with brass spiral spacers for projection and strung on a black waxed cotton cord. 

This is a wonderful necklace to tap into the energy of the fox, excellent to wear for shamanic purposes but also in ritual and for every day.

All Moon's crafts pieces are ethically foraged and created in the UK entirely by hand. No stencils are used for the art work and all art is original. Each piece is magically correct and researched to ensure all energy within the piece can be utilised specifically and magically. 

Brightest Blessings )0(

MoonsCraftsUK