The constellation Taurus was one of the earliest to be named. It includes the star cluster known to us as the Pleiades in Greek, the seven sisters or seven daughters of Atlas, whose rising has been used all over the world to mark the dates of Spring festivals. The Pleiades are named Subaru in Japanese and are known as the seven stars signifying the time to plant seeds. Yes, the auto company's logo is a stylized glyph of the constellation.

Taurus, like Spring itself, represents productivity and growth. The symbol of Taurus is the bull or cow, an animal long sacred to the Goddess. Cattle have had religious significance all over the ancient world dating back at least to the last Ice Age. They have commonly been used as a sacrifice by many cultures. The horns of cattle are symbolic of the moon in Eastern art. The cow's milk exemplifies motherhood and nurture. The Milky Way of the heavens was mythically derived from the milk of the Egyptian cow goddess or from the milk of the Greek goddess Hera as she suckled Heracles in the heavens.

The monthly installment of The Great Astrological Light Bulb Joke:

Q. How many Tauriens does it take to change a light bulb?

A. One, but just try to convince them that the burned-out bulb is useless and should be thrown away.  

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!

April 20^th is Easter in most countries, and Emancipation Day in Jamaica. "They would no longer be slaves, but emancipated, free to do as they pleased. That was not to be, as amidst the joy and celebration came the news that full freedom would not be granted immediately, but that ex-slaves would be apprenticed to their former master for a minimum of four (4) years." -- Excerpts from the Gleaner Supplement, Sat. July 31, 1999 p.4.

Easter is the Christianized version of Oestara or Ostara. It celebrates the resurrection of the Christ after three days in the tomb. See Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20. This coincides with the Sun gods of many cultures who spend three days in the underworld before coming forth with a treasure or a new teaching.

Christians dropped the fertility rituals of Ostara but retained the traditional rabbit and eggs. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets. The week after Easter is designated Egg Salad Week by the American Egg Board.

April 21^st is John Muir Day: In 1988, a U.S. Congressional Joint Resolution designated April 21 as "John Muir Day". Click here for the Sierra Club’s tribute to John Muir.

April 22^nd is Earth Day

Visit the Earth Day Network to learn about and to participate in events worldwide.

April 25^th is National Arbor Day.

April 26^th is Confederate Memorial Day, a day set aside in the South to pay tribute to those who served with the Confederate forces during the American Civil War.

April 27^th is Orthodox Easter

April 29^th is the Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel.

April 30^th to May 1^st is Walpurgis' Night in Switzerland, and Beltane (Northern Hemisphere). Click here to read about the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

May 1^st is Labor Day in almost every country in the world, but the US. Here it is celebrated as Loyalty Day. For the President’s proclamation on loyalty, click here.

May 2^nd is our First Friday of the month Open House! Click here for details.

May 2^nd is the celebration of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the "Black Madonna" in Poland. Click here to see the shrine. 

May 5^th is Cinco de Mayo, a commemoration of the victory of the Mexicans over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, but is also celebrated in other parts of the country and in U.S.cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually September 16.

May 11^th is Mother’s Day.

May 15^th is a Full Moon and a Lunar Eclipse. 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. Click here to see NASA/Goddard’s info on the eclipse.

May 16^th is also National Bike to Work Day. Click here to learn more on the League of American Bicyclists website. (This is not the same as the motorcyclist’s 12^th annual Ride to Work Day, which is on July 16th.) 

May 21^st The Sun enters Gemini.

Moss Agate is composed of Chalcedony (extremely finely crystalline quartz--called cryptocrystalline), with embedded dendrites of various materials. Moss Agate is similar to Tree Agate, but in moss agate, the quartz background is clear, whereas in Tree Agate, the background is milky white. Most agate comes from Brazil, Sri Lanka, Africa, Mexico and Maine, Utah and Colorado. It is suitable for jewelry with hardness: 6.0 - 7.0 on the Moh's Hardness Scale. Moss Agate gets its name not from the green "moss-like" inclusions, but rather from the Arabian seaport of Mocha (Al Mukna) on the Red Sea Coast of Yemen where it first became popular.

Magically, Moss Agate has long been called the "Gardener's Stone".  It is considered helpful to the herbalist and farmer, when worn while planting, is thought to ensure a good crop. It is also mentioned in many old wealth and money-drawing spells. Moss Agate is said to resonate with Taurus and the Heart Chakra and can help bring peace, balance, and gentle growth. It can be especially useful to those dealing with excessive stress or an overwhelming sense of duty in their lives.

I am always amazed by what passes for stone lore:

Agate is "an incense to the finer self that makes for an awakening, an opening of the inner self for the receptiveness. An attunement is made through such vibrations."

That was an Edgar Cayce quote. Useful, isn’t it? That will really help you to decide whether this is something you need. (Yes, Inga is being facetious. -- sbd)

Click here to learn more about purchasing Inga's Earth Magic Jewelry.

Happy Birthday to all you Taureans!

A Native American legend describes the origin of both Devil’s Tower and the Pleiades:

“According to the Kiowa Indians, a bear chased 7 sisters, who clambered onto a tree stump. The stump surged heavenward, transporting the girls to safety as the bear clawed deep gouges in the bark of the rising monolith. The sisters were transported by the creator into the sky and resurrected as the seven stars of the Pleiades.”

-- Bill Vaughn, “The Snow On The Sweetgrass” Outside Magazine, October 2002.

The Pleiades are prominent in modern UFOlogy and channeling circles as well. Barbara Marciniak has at least two books purported to be channeled from there:  Bringers of the Dawn: Teachings from the Pleiadians, and Earth: Pleiadian Keys to the Living Library. Barbara Hand Clow has also written many, including: Heart of the Christos: Starseeding from the Pleiades. Preston Nichols ties together the UFO legends and modern military experimentation at Montauk, in his new book: Encounter in the Pleiades: An Inside Look at UFOs. 

The Pleiades are called Subaru in Japan. The constellation signifies seeds and planting. Here is a great website recounting the myth of the Subaru.

Here is a link to the Center for Archeoastronomy.

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!

Scott sent this in:

http://www.costofwar.com/

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 16, 1953

Here are four great quotes I found:

"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."—Rita Rudner

“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices.” -- Albus Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by JK Rowling.

"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~ Elizabeth Stone

“If your basic idea is too complicated to fit on a T-shirt it's probably wrong.”- Leon Lederman (1922 - )

Uncle Bob’s monthly movie review: http://www.infiniteloopdesign.com/femmefatale.html. This month he's reviewing "Femme Fatale", written and directed by Brian De Palma, starring Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Antonio Banderas.

We've always wondered what would happen if we got the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic (IEM) into a room together. Why? Because every one of us has a unique gift to offer to the world. And if we get enough of us in one place at the same time, something magical is bound to occur.

• When: The 1st Friday of every month. Please join us for dinner. We start eating around 7 PM. Or join us for dessert later on!
• Where: Our place (click on LIBRARY in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and then MAP ROOM for directions)
• What to bring: Just your enthusiasm and love! There's a big pot of pasta on the stove, salad, bread and plenty of microbrews and red wine. If you have specific preferences, please bring whatever you'd like.
• How long: Until the good conversation ends! If you'd like, you can spend the night on one of the couches with the kitties or bring your sleeping bag and mat and camp out on the floor of Inga's office.
• RSVP: Just let us know in advance via e-mail or phone if you are coming and if you are bringing guests so we don't run out of food or beer!

Freya, our German Shepherd, is currently away at summer camp for two weeks. It's actually intensive, one-on-one training and I was referring to it as doggie boot camp, thinking it was going to be hard on her due to the separation anxiety Freya was experiencing along with her general lack of confidence around strangers. But Inga knew better and was telling Freya prior to going that it was like Hogwarts for dogs. Sure enough, as we read the first daily reports coming in from camp via e-mail, we could feel her happiness and sense of adventure. Clearly Freya knows in her heart she's a beloved member of our family and we've chosen her trainer well.

Here's the first report we received from Moc Klinkham, Freya's trainer, and it did a lot to relieve our parental anxiety as to how Freya would take being shipped off with a stranger:

"Hi - Just wanted to drop a quick line and let you know that Freya is settled down for the night. We had a nice long evening walkabout in the woods and pastures and then a good long session of hugga-mugga and kissy face with lots of tummy rubs and some relaxing head-to-toe massage, nothing but sighs and slurps from Freya. I'd say she's adjusting quite well. :) Take care, Moc"

Then a day or so later, we received this report: 

"Hi Inga - ....I believe Freya was born to the country. Here are some pix of Girl Scout trying to drop hints that it's time I took her to the lake. :) Take care, Moc" 

Hmmm....looks like we may need to get a kiddie pool for the backyard. The next message arrives:

"-----Original Message----- 
From: Moc at NorthWest K9 
Sent: 4/28/2003 5:51 PM 
To: Inga Duncan Thornell 
Subject: The Forest Dingo

At 08:04 PM 04/28/2003 +0000, you wrote: >Hope you two are having fun. 

Nahhhhhh, she ain't having no fun at all, no sirree. Regular wood nymph, this one. <g>

Take care, Moc"

Inga and I take our  first two classes with Freya and Moc this coming Saturday and we have two more classes after that to take. Hopefully, the humans will have as much fun as "the little princess", as Moc calls her, and that we'll do as well. (I think we're still somewhat trainable.) 

Here's a link to Moc's website below. It contains wonderful photos and stories: NorthWest K9 "Excellence in Working Dogs".

And a link to the rescue group she works with: German Shepherd Rescue Network 

If you missed the story about how we came to adopt Freya, click here.

Coming up: I'm riding my motorcycle from Seattle, Washington to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona later in May with friends. My brother, Paul, and more friends, are riding up from Tucson to meet us. We'll also be checking out Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah. Unlike my 2002 ride, I'll post pictures and stories ASAP. -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

• Women and Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training - Inga's account of getting through motorcycle training and how important it is for women to get a "word of mouth" recommendation on who to take their training from.
•  

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