 Libra
2004
Edition Libra
is the one sign of the Zodiac represented by an inanimate object: the
scales. The name Libra comes from the Libyan Goddess of Holy Law who
carried the scales of judgment, and her counterpart in Egypt was Maat,
the spirit of equilibrium, of justice, truth and rightness. The Sun
moves into the constellation Libra on the day of the autumnal equinox.
Libra is elegant and charming, a lover of harmony. Libra has excellent
judgment and leadership ability despite its impatience with criticism.
Libra is able to see both sides of any issue, exhibiting impartiality
bordering on indecisiveness. It is a Cardinal, Air sign; hence it is
masculine in nature.
The monthly installment of The Great Astrological Light Bulb Joke: Q. How many Librans does it take to change a light bulb? A. Er, two, or maybe one. No, on second thought, make that two. Is that OK with you? Note: I have no idea who originally wrote this. Erika sent it to me
years ago and I still think it’s as funny as it is insightful! September 22nd is the Autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and The Sun Enters Libra. The Mabon festival marks the fruit harvest. The glyph for Libra represents the setting sun expressing the balance between night and day: Equinox. The rising of the constellation Libra marked the beginning of the new year in ancient Egypt. Equinoxes are the two points in the year (March 21 and September 23) when the Sun crosses the celestial equator. At these times, day and night in Northern and Southern hemispheres are of equal length. The Spring (vernal) equinox occurs midway between the Winter and Summer solstices; the autumnal equinox occurs midway between the Summer and Winter solstices. The Autumn equinoctial Festival of Mabon mirrors the Spring equinoctial festival of Oestara with the Light and Dark forces of the Universe switching ascendancy. September 25th is Yom Kippur / Atonement Day. September 28th is a Full Moon in Aries (The Harvest Moon): The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. This is the time to perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision and consecration. To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library. September 30th: The Festival of Sukkot: Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur. October 1st is the First Friday of the month and the Dunthor Open House! Click here to see details below. October 9th is Leif Erikson Day: More than 1,000 years ago, Leif Erikson, son of Iceland, grandson of Norway, and his crew journeyed across the Atlantic seeking unknown lands. Click here to read the presidential proclamation October 10th is the end of the Draconids Meteors: Click here to check out Gary W. Kronk’s Comets & Meteor Showers Calendar. October 12th is the traditional celebration of Columbus Day: Columbus claimed the New World for Spain in 1492. AIM is currently trying to end Columbus Day’s status as a national holiday. Their point, they say, is not to dishonor the man but to ask whether imperialism and colonialism are something we wish to venerate with a national holiday. I do find it interesting that the post, banks, and schools are closed for Columbus Day but not for Election Day. Hmmm... Click here to read more from Indians.org. October 13th is a New Moon in Libra and a Solar Eclipse: The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision, have beauty treatments, cut your hair (if you want fast re-growth), get medical treatment, make long-term relationship plans. A solar eclipse occurs when the New Moon passes directly in front of the Sun’s disk. This has traditionally been considered a most impressive event. The Moon casts a conical shadow toward the Earth’s surface, sweeping across a relatively small area, plunging day into night, and allowing sightings of the Sun’s fiery halo. To learn more about actively using the Moon's energy in your life, see The Moon Through the Signs and Moon Phases. These guides are located in our Library. October 16th is Hurricane Thanksgiving Day: It is celebrated if no hurricanes occur in the US Virgin Islands. October 17th is the beginning of Ramadan: It is the Islamic month of fasting. October 22nd: The Sun Enters Scorpio Stone of the Sign - Rose Cameo
This is a cameo depicting a single rose. The rose is a flower long associated with Venus. This cameo, like most cameos made after WWI, is actually resin. Yes, it is an artificial material but that means you can rest assured that no shellfish or agates were harmed in its manufacture. The beauty of a resin cameo is that its detail is phenomenal. The background of this one is a delicate coral color. I wrapped it in 14k rolled gold wire. Gold has been used for adornment since antiquity. It is a soft metal that is easy to form into complex jewelry. According to tradition, it can balance the body’s energy fields. Wearing gold is said to remove negative energy from the chakras. It brings wealth, happiness and positive energy into one’s life. It will enhance the energy of the stones it is worn with. Besides, some things just look best in gold. On Sale this month … $35.00 USD Click here to see this item and more in my Jewelry Catalog. To learn more about how to use Gemstones in your
daily life, see "What
Gemstones Should I Wear?" guide in our
Library. Inga's
Space
I do have some good readings for you this month: It is interesting that we think anxiety and depression are part and parcel of living in the modern world. This quote is from Western Civilization: A Brief History by Marvin Perry, 2001. “Uncertainty and danger filled life in Mesopotamia. Sometimes, the unpredictable waters of the rivers broke through the dikes, flooding fields, ruining crops, and damaging cities. At other times, an insufficient overflow deprived the land of water, causing crops to fail. Mesopotamia had no natural barriers to invasion. Feeling themselves surrounded by incomprehensible and often hostile forces, Mesopotamians lived in an atmosphere of anxiety which permeated their civilization. A mood of uncertainty and anxiety, an awareness of the cosmos as unfathomable and mysterious a feeling of dread about the fragility of human existence and the impermanence of human achievement - these attitudes are as old as the first civilization. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the finest work of Mesopotamian literature, masterfully depicts this mood of pessimism and despair.” Time management skills: I think this link may lead
to the scariest thing I have ever seen. It is a clock face into
which you enter your plans/obligations for the day. There is no way I
can get my date book crammed into this 24 hour day. The most logical
thing to cut out is 8 hours of sleep, and I am sure we’ve all tried
that. Thank the gods for our ability to multitask. In High School,
I came up the multitasking combination of “sleeping” combined with
“classes”. Now here is a good multitasking combination: “Meal
preparation/eating/clean-up” with “Socializing/entertainment (with
friends)”. See, you can be really efficient by coming to the First Click here to see the scary clock. Here is a most interesting demonstration of the hazards of logic: “The history of cosmology is not the easy story of the rejection of absurd ideas in favor of what (perhaps after a little thought) is seen to be patently true, but the heroic saga of the hard-won rejection of the patently true in favor of the absurd. We have an example of this in the physical proofs that the Earth was at rest rather than spinning on its axis. These proofs were to prove convincing to nearly everyone who considered the question, from the philosophers of Athens in the fourth century BC to Tycho Brahe in his observatory on the Baltic island of Hven two millennia later, and even today they retain a certain plausibility. Let an archer fire an arrow vertically into the air; and suppose that while the arrow is in flight, the Earth moves, and therefore the archer with it. If so, then by the time the arrow has climbed vertically into the air, paused, and fallen vertically down again, the archer will no longer be underneath it. Yet experience shows that in fact it is hazardous for an archer to fire arrows vertically. Ergo, the Earth does not move.” (From The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy, Edited by Michael Hoskin, Cambridge University Press, 1999) NEWSFLASH! I am reintroducing our Elemental Incense, a.k.a. the “Welcoming the Elementals Kit”. This kit is 1 ounce of handmade incense from a recipe given to us by the Elementals we work with. In the beginning, mankind and fairy-kind coexisted peacefully and worked together but mankind's encroachment on their homes and misuse of Earth forced the Elementals into exile in the astral realm. They are tired of this and have agreed to go back to the old way of working with humans in order to help heal Earth so that all may live in peace. The use of this incense on every full Moon along with the chant they gave us will invite them and their magic into your home. See Sandra’s letter below. Click here to read the story behind the recipe. Letters from our Readers We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, are welcome to participate. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in be it Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc., as long as it reflects Love. You may choose a one-time holiday to write about or have a regular column. We'll give you space and a byline! Please send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, your journal excerpts, your experiences and most of all, ask us questions. We love answering questions! From Sandra (from an email regarding our Earth Elemental Incense) As to how I use this, well, I do use it at the full moon, as you outline in your kit. Sometimes, I also like to use it at the new moon; it depends on what is going on and the season of the year. I love this blend because it has the definite *feel* of earth - solid and enduring, yet also growing and alive. I have never found incense that even comes close to capturing this essence. I can't imagine a full moon without this incense! I have been using blend for years now, first while living in a small house in California, and now here in Ohio, on 170 acres of mostly wooded land. Burning it always evokes a feeling of being in tune with the spirits of this place. The woods here have not always been treated well. Previous residents have dumped trash all over, and some of it has been logged. So, I use this incense to try and establish trust, and to offer what healing I can. Again, thank you so much for continuing to make this. Please let me know the details for ordering it, and never stop making it! Inga notes: We haven’t! It just isn’t in the catalog right now. Call or email to order. From Deborah: "There is a wonderful mystical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life - happiness, freedom, and peace of mind - are always attained by giving them to someone else." -- Peyton Conway March From Scott: "Cast off your garments of fear, replace them with
love The Monthly Dunthor Open House Please come join in the community that has been created over the years with the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic. You'll find insight, sharing, healing and fellowship and you are most welcome.
Just for fun, we've begun offering an astrological quiz based on the newsletter at our monthly parties. Our first one was for Cancer 2004. Click here to try your hand.
The Duncan
Domain
The town of Vashon itself is just a two or three block long wide spot in the road with shops and cafes and as we pulled in, both sides of the street were lined with bikes of all makes, styles and ages. Everything from old Hondas to ancient Harleys to old Beemers to a wide range of UK bikes like Nortons, Ariels, Vincents, Triumphs, etc. were on hand, some meticulously restored and others showing many years of wear and tear but still serviceable. After finding some breakfast and coffee in a very crowded cafe in Vashon, we walked up and down the street to examine the bikes. Afterwards, we did a poker run around the entire island, going from one tiny town to the next on quiet two lane roads past orchards and harbors. We only spent half the day at the rally as we had other things to do but next year I intend to spend the entire day. For me, it is a delightful celebration of motorcycling, history and the best form of recycling: restoration. I've added photos that I took of the event to my Cool Rides Photo Album page if you'd like to see some of those vintage rides. Then on September 2 and 3, I spent two days in a motorcycle school at
the Pacific Raceways racetrack in Kent. The last time I went, I showed
up on a
Honda sport bike, this year I took my
2003 Honda GoldWing, a 900 lb. luxury touring motorcycle that I've
nicked named the "Couch Rocket". What
that really means is that if this were a fencing class, while the other
participants are showing up with foils or sabers, I’m showing up with a
Scottish Claymore. (Picture what Mel Gibson was lugging around in
Braveheart.) As this is a class that uses the controlled environment
of a
The chief instructor, Reg Pridmore, a three time AMA superbike racing champion, describes a martial art to us in the outdoor classroom between our sessions on the track. Here's what I remember from the lectures:
Meanwhile on the home front, little Margaret has rapidly and very comfortably fit into the Duncan clan. Her kittenish exuberance has brought out the playfulness in all of us. She spends most of the day sleeping in Inga's office and anytime one of us goes into the bathroom, she wakes up and comes in to greet us with a meow. She has this very peculiar habit of nestling in my pants while I'm sitting on the toilet. Figuring that you wouldn't believe me, I summoned Inga to come quickly with the digital camera. Getting her back out of my pants once she's all curled up and comfy can be quiet challenging at times. All of a sudden, this little cat weighs 40 lbs., is very slippery and she likes to nip. And then to top it all off, she loves to steal things from Inga's office. I think we need to go pick up some new catnip mice toys for her. – Scott Bruce Duncan */:-) New and Updated Pages on our Website E-Commerce stuff! Click here to read past issues of our Newsletter. Subscription information: Distribution via e-mail is free of charge. We feel the Internet is a great way to share knowledge and information and very compatible with the environment. We certainly hope you enjoyed our newsletter. If you are not interested in this information and would like to be removed from this mailing list, please click the e-mail link below and place the word "REMOVE" in the subject line of your message. This message is being sent to you in compliance with the Federal legislation for commercial e-mail (H.R.4176 - Section 101, Paragraph (e)(1)(a)) and Bill s.1618 Title III passed by the 105th US Congress. |
I
have two new cat/dog/husband pictures this month plus a harrowing story
of the accidental death of my beloved digital camera and adventures in
Customer Service comprising the tale of departments of companies long
considered icons of corporate America that have been outsourced to
foreign countries. Just ask me at the next party.
Friday Open House.
race
track to teach us about riding better on the street, this is an
appropriate motorcycle to bring. Hell, some guys even show up on big
touring Harleys which is like showing up at the fencing class with a
caveman's club. Actually, what ever you show up on is suitable as long
as you can achieve highway speeds. Where it does get a tad nutty is
when, realizing there are no speed limits on the track, you start
exploring the limits of your machine and your skills. I could just
leisurely motor around the track in the slower “B” group and enjoy the
freedom of no cops, no cars, no kids, no cell phone impaired SUVs, no
pets, no deer. But no……I have to explore the envelope. I want to
approach the edge and require myself to utilize my body / mind / spirit
alignment in order to manage the risk. I want to use the “force”. Ok, so
I’m somewhat driven, I guess.
Obviously,
this is a lot to take in but the coaching is designed to let each of us
determine how much we want to tackle. For me, I was there for a
thoughtful, collaborative experience; a conversation between my body,
mind and spirit, the motorcycle, the road, the other riders, the
instructors and the Elementals. And when alignment was reached between
us, a wonderful state of clarity and grace emerged. When I really got it
dialed in, seriousness was replaced by sheer playfulness and elation.
Clearly, this approach to motorcycling might just be useful for life
itself. I'll have to give it a try.
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on this link to visit the Amazon home page.