Countdown to the Full Blue Moon (March 31) and the Pagan New Year (April 1) - Part 2

Ēostre - Everyone's Pagan Goddess for a day

For all intents and purposes, in North America, this Full Blue Moon will occur on "Friday night." I suppose that it will be perhaps just as full on Friday and Saturday evenings. Technically it occurs at 8:37 AM est. It works out perfectly since it overlaps with the April 1st Pagan New Year, or "Easter" after the Teutonic goddess Ēostre (Ostara) and with all of the rich Pagan symbolism.

Of course the Ostara seasonal celebration was March 19-22, so both dates would objectively work and are tied to our ancient past. I would like to think that the hollidays/festivals of Carnival, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Ostara, and finally Easter---all rooted in ancient Pagan traditions---are something of a five-week countdown to the "Pagan New Year."

Full Moons for March 2018: The Full Sap Moon and Blue Moon (Old Farmer's Almanac)

2018's 2nd Blue Moon on March 31 | Tonight | EarthSky

March Full Moons 2018: When to See the 'Worm Moon' and a (Blue) 'Sap Moon' (Space.com)

Prepare For the Challenges to Follow the March 31st Full Blue Moon In Libra (DNA activation)






"Ye shall assemble in some desert place,
Or in a forest all together join"

-- Injunction from Aradia, the Goddess of the Witches, to her followers ('The Gospel of the Witches')

Cueva de los Murciélagos (Cave of Bats)

Within this Neolithic burial chamber in Spain was discovered a seated female skeleton surrounded by twelve others in a neat semicircle: 12+1=13

Externsteine Rocks Neolithic Astronomical Observatory

By Martin Gray - WorldReviewer.com

Located in the Teutoburg district, the sacred heartland of Germany, the Externsteine rocks were known as a place of pilgrimage in prehistoric, Celtic and early Saxon times. Pagan rituals were performed here until the 8th century AD, when Charles the Great cut down the sacred Irmensul tree, the German tree of life and symbol of the old religion. The earliest historical mention of Externsteine comes from the 12th century when the site came under the control of a nearby Benedictine monastery. A series of artificial caves, which had been carved into the base of the sandstone spires in ancient times, were enlarged and used as dwellings for Christian hermits and monks.

Atop the tallest rock spire are the well preserved remains of an enigmatic prehistoric temple. Different theories have been suggested concerning the identity of the temple's builders and the use to which it was put. Some have described the shrine as a Mithraeum, or sanctuary for Roman soldiers adhering to the Persian cult of Mithras, while other scholars believe that such deities as the Germanic Teut, the Nordic Wodan, or the Bructerian prophetess Veleda were worshipped in the sanctuary. What is known with certainty however, is that the temple was constructed according to astronomical orientations. The round window-like opening shown in the photograph has been demonstrated to have significant celestial alignments, including a view of the moon at its northern extreme and the sun at sunrise on the summer solstice.

Externsteine was once the reputed former haunt of the prophetess Veleda.





John Denver - Annie's Song

Jstfmceh

.

Some pagan music on the eve of Vestalia

'Gleipnir' by Adrian von Ziegler

Pagan Metal - Gleipnir

Adrian von Ziegler YouTube channel

Facebook / iTunes / Bandcamp:
http://www.facebook.com/AdrianvonZiegler
http://itunes.apple.com/artist/adrian
http://adrianvonziegler.bandcamp.com/

Real CD's / Twitter / Merchandise:
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Adrianvo
http://twitter.com/#!/AdrianVZiegler
http://adrianvonziegler.spreadshirt.com/

This Song now is clearly Pagan Metal, It's probably the hardest Song I've made so far. I tried to concentrate on Rhythms, but at the same Time not to lose Focus on the Melodies. I hope you like it.
© Copyright of all Audio belongs to Adrian von Ziegler.

THE MEANING OF GLEIPNIR:
In Norse Mythology Gleipnir is the Binding, which holds the mighty Fenriswolf until Ragnarök, when it will break and let Fenris devour Odin.






'A Pagan Storm' by Wolfchant

Wolfchant - A Paganstorm

VerbranntesFleisch YouTube channel

A good german Pagan Metal Band

"A Pagan Storm" by Wolfchant (Google Play • iTunes • eMusic • AmazonMP3)






'Huldresagn' by Eliwagar

Eliwagar Huldresagn 

Runahild YouTube channel

Video filmed and produced by Ragnhild Jensen, with some good ideas from Inge Solsvik too. We are very thankful for their amazing help :) 

"Huldresagn" (the Huldra's Tale/Legend) is a new song from the upcoming album of the same name that will come out in the late autumn 2014.

Ragnhild and Inge are both from the music project Less is Dead, you can check them out here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Less-is-Dead/346313838793149?fref=ts


**************************************************
 

Virgo Vestalis Maxima

Vesta (mythology)

Vesta is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. Vesta's presence is symbolized by the sacred fire that burned at her hearth and temples. Her closest Greek equivalent is Hestia.

The importance of Vesta to Roman religion is indicated by the prominence of the priesthood devoted to her, the Vestal Virgins, Rome's only college of full-time priests.

Ruins of the Temple of Vesta

What was Vestalia?

The Roman celebration of Vestalia was held each year in June, near the time of Litha, the summer solstice. This festival honored Vesta, the Roman goddess who guarded virginity. She was sacred to women, and alongside Juno was considered a protector of marriage.

The Vestalia was celebrated from June 7 to June 15, and was a time in which the inner sanctum of the Vestal Temple was opened for all women to visit and make offerings to the goddess.




.

Origins of Druidry, Wicca, OTO, Thelema, AMORC, Golden Dawn, Theosophical Society

An interesting video about modern semi-secret magical orders, and their common origin from a female perspective within this subject. AMORC stands for The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, more commonly known as the Rosicrucian Order. Their headquarters is an Egyptian museum in San Jose, which anyone can visit (Rosicrucian Park). At the beginning, there's an interesting part about "Freemasonic Druidry." Generally, I think she hit the nail on the head with this. I would disagree with a few minor points.

The serpent symbolizes feminine-oriented knowledge and wisdom; and the male-oriented eagle allegorically takes this wisdom away for it's own purposes. However, I think there is at least some grey area.. historically-speaking.


From the video:

"In ancient times, all the tribes were matriarchal. There may have been kings, and priests, but only the queen or the priestess made him one by annointing him. It was these roles who were the spiritual leaders of the tribe. The ones who were seers, alchemists, astronomers, shamans, magicians, teachers of the esoteric and the exoteric, philosophers, midwives, herbalists, peacemakers, law keepers. These were the priestesses of old, and they all came from the noble serpent families. This was before old Patriarchal religions were invented. It was long before some of the teachings were taken by eagles and turned into religions and cults..."


Websites associated with this video:

Temple of Theola YouTube channel

SerpentBloodline.info

BeTheSolution.net

Temple of Theola

The Church of St. Mary and St. John

The International Priory of Knights Hospitaller Templar

**************************************************

Addition: I should have added that the main figure within this Celtic/Gnostic international movement is Tau Tia L Douglass of the UK, who narrated the above video.

.

Sacred woods, the Allmother, and Elderflower

I'm basing this post partly on an article by our friend Deep~Glade entitled 'The Nine Sacred Woods of the Bonfire'. One of the sacred woods listed there is Elder wood, from the Elder or "Goddess tree." This tree is never to be cut or burned in any way if you are a magical-heathen. This is because the "old crone" of the Triple Goddess lives within the Elder tree. I think of the "Triple Goddess" as three separate goddesses, with the Mother (Lunar/Moon) called "the Allmother" (or "Almother" and "All-Mother"); the same as Odinists calling Odin (Solar/Sun) "the Allfather."

The pre-Germanic/pre-Mediterranean Europeans seemed to clearly be more maternally-oriented in a spiritual way. This partially translated to everyday life. The husband/father [Law] was the "provider in charge of the economic-component" to the family and "head of the family; while the wife/mother [Justice] was "matron" and "head of the household."

I believe that male and female were more-or-less equal, as the tribal and clan leaders [Law] may have been male; however, the spiritual leaders [Justice] were female. Whether great or small, I don't believe that they got in each others way in the same way that we might think of in modern times. For example, men had their world away from the home, and had friendships and rivalries among each other. Women, closer to village life, had their world, and also had friendships and rivalries among each other. To make myself clear, I am referring to pre-Celtic Europe.

If they lived within more of a larger clan, then it was basically the same dynamic except that the economic and home life responsibilities would be shared. Family, clan, and tribe. The tribe was usually a small "nation," unless it was a large tribe or the tribe was part of some type of federation; in which case there would have been some type of geographical-administrative system.

From the article:

The one tree Wiccans are admonished NOT to burn in a sacred fire (or any fire for that matter) is the Elder. As the Wiccan Rede says:
 
Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them quick a’ burn them slow. Elder be ye Lady’s tree; burn it not or cursed ye’ll be.

This is because Elder is the Goddess’s tree, strongly connected to Goddess spirituality and also because within the tree lives the Elder Mother or Hylde-moder. The elder is the Old Crone aspect of the triple Goddess, a wise old energy at the end of the year’s cycle. One should NEVER cut down any part of an Elder tree without the explicit consent of Elder Mother, lest you bring downfall upon yourself.

Many food and beverage products are made from cultivated Elder trees. Of course that brings up the question as to whether or not this is okay according to ancient tradition? I asked Deep~Glade this question.

Joseph: Thank you Deep~Glade. I wonder if it’s okay to cultivate the Elder tree for it’s dried flowers and beverages?
 
deepglade: Yes, I think it is ok to cultivate Elder as long as you do it with due respect. Here is some information I’ve found on the cultivation and harvesting of Elder – It is a perennial to Zone 5. Germination is in 10-20 days. Soak seed 2 months at 60-65F, stratify then sprout at 40F. Space 10 feet from each other, or grow smaller herbs beneath it. Soil temperature 65-70F; soil nitrogen-rich, moist or with high water table. pH: 5.5-7.5. Partial shade preferred or full sun. Compost around the base of the plants is ideal for continued health and productivity. Also sow ripe berries 1 inch deep in a pot outdoors. Plant seedlings out in a semi-shaded position when large enough.Usually propagated by cuttings or sometimes root division of young plants. Flowers with the supporting peduncle are harvested as they are just starting to open, usually in early summer. They should never be harvested soon after they have gotten wet as this will cause them to blacken. Flowers are harvested with pruning shears. Fruits with the peduncle are harvested in the fall by hand when they are ripe and juice. A harvest is usually possible the second or third year after planting. Flowers should be dried carefully with as little bruising as possible. Drying time is 7 to 10 days.

Hope this helps :)

**************************************************

I think you may find the following link interesting:

Amazon.com search for "elderflower" products

.