October

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1Magic Circles Day	2  My Justice Year	3	4	5Bast appears to Ra	6 Full Moon	7 Pallas Athena
8 Festival of High Places	9 Goose Fair	10 Bo Ruad	11Old Lady of the Elder Tree	12	13Guiding Spirits Day	14 Feast of the spirits of Air
15 Start of my 9th house Disirblot (Norse)	16 Air Dragon Day	17	18 The Great Horn Fair	19	20	21Day of St. Ursula
22	23 Start of Scorpio	24 Waning Moon	25	26 Felicitas	27	28 Celtic tree month of Ngetal (Reed) begins
29 Frybod (Celtic)	30   Day of Transformation	31 Samhain

	Eighth House Journal
	Ninth House Journal

Listen!  the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!
-  Humbert Wolfe

October 1   Magic Circles Day - A circle has power and energy. It represents the completion of a cycle of existence - returning to source - finding your way Home. The Circle symbolizes: a cycle, coming full circle, completions, continual movement, progression through time, clockwork and formal structure. The Magic Circle in theory serves as a container for magical energies as well as helping to switch from the mundane consciousness of everyday life to that of a more magically minded one. In certain types of magical rituals, those described as black magic conjurations by the ignorant, the circle is used to keep out hostile forces and entities. Fides (Old Roman Goddess of Faithfulness) Saxon New Year Kwan Yin's third birthday   October 2  My birthday: October's child is born for woe, And life's vicissitudes must know; But lay an Opal on her breast, And hope will lull those foes to rest. Found this on the web.  For your birthday I would love to give you an emerald green parachute, ruby slippers, a canoe covered with jewels, five bouquets of tiger lilies and one of organic broccoli, a donkey clown piñata full of crickets, a protective gargoyle lifted from the Chartres Cathedral, one of Jimi Hendrix's holy finger bones, a strawberry chocolate cake baked in the shape of a question mark, a DNA map drawn up by the Human Genome Project, fistfuls of sparklers, a bottle of holy water from the River Jordan, photos of lightning on a giant poster, a refrigerator magnet cast in the likeness of the Dalai Lama, a digitally remastered CD of the Big Bang, and the key of life accidentally placed inside a Crackerjack box. A Justice Year Mercury enters Scorpio on October 2nd, and stays in the sign until December 8th. While Mercury in Libra urged us to find balance and to arrive at fair solutions, Mercury in Scorpio instinctively knows that life simply isn't fair. Mercury in Scorpio seeks truths in all that is hidden and undercover. We tend to probe, observe, and focus our thoughts under this influence. Looking for motivations--the more deeply buried the better--satisfies an intellectual need now. October 3 This Venus ruled month is all about the Heart. Buy roses, burn cinnamon and sugar coat those nasty thoughts! Guiding Spirits Day. A day to honor your own personal angel or daimon. If you don't have a totem animal, today would be a good day to meet one.  According to Waverly Fitzgerald the book  The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, tells a delightful fantasy story about a world in which everyone has a daimon, a sort of animal familiar. Light a white candle on your altar and give thanks to your spirit guide(s) for guarding over you and guiding you through your spiritual development.   October 4   October 5 A festival is held annually on this date, known as the Dionysiad. It is in honor of the deities Dionysus, Ariadne, and the Maenads. October 6 This day is sacred to Pallas Athena, patroness of Athens. She was later worshipped in Rome as the Goddess Victoria, the divine personification of success and triumph. In the Christian era, she was transmuted into St. Victoria, or Our Lady of Victories. With the fashion for triumphal architecture, her image was placed on top of ceremonial arches, such as Marble Arch in London and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Bast appears to Ra the sun God Ivy Day October 7   In Egyptian Calendar, Feast of Ma’at, goddess of Truth (Hethara day 21).  October 8 Festival of High Places, This day is dedicated to Claívsolais the dragon of air, winds, and soaring thoughts. Mercury, the ruler of all forms of communication -- from casual chitchat to meaningful glances to barely noticeable shrugs -- will sidle off into subtle Scorpio. For the next three weeks, this planet-sign combination will create the perfect astrological atmosphere for whispers, secrets and confidential exchanges of information. If you've got something to reveal, but you're not sure you want any more than an audience of one to hear it, pull them aside now -- while you're astrologically guaranteed that they'll be discreet. October 9 Nottingham Goose Fair This ancient English fair has been held since 1284. Once it began on St Matthews Day (Sep 21) and lasted for eight days (until Michaelmas). Now it takes place on the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October.  In earlier times, gooseherds drove geese to the fair where they were sold to be eaten at Michaelmas and Christmas. The geese were "shoed" by dipping their feet in tar, and then sand for the long journey. It turns out that Pomeranians were originally bread to be goose herders.  When you combine that with the fact that Himself is  50% Sheltie you get a dog that lives to herd, something,,, anything.  For that reason we set aside this date as a special one to make sure sure he has a chance to explore his working nature.  Usually this means finding a flock of geese for him to play with. October 10   October 11 Witches in Denmark and Germany honor the Old Lady of the Elder Trees every year on this date. She is an old Pagan spirit who dwells within and watches over each and every tree of the elder family. Before cutting any branches to use as magic wands, a libation of elderberry wine is poured onto the tree's roots. October 12 Fortuna Redux (Old Roman Goddess of Successful Journeys & Safe Returns) October 13 Last Quarter Moon at 2°18 Cancer 11:41 pm PDt The waning Moon enters Cancer and our feelings are deepened. Moodiness is common during a Last Quarter Moon in Cancer and there may be a lot of defensiveness and general sensitivity at work during this time. Last Quarter Moon in Cancer encourages our moods to work out the unsettled parts of our emotional stability. This is a time to recognize the importance of letting the 'moodiness' of people run a natural course without taking a personal offense.   Fontinalia (Old Roman Winter Festival) The Camenae are Roman water spirits who dwell in freshwater springs and rivers. Their name means "foretellers". Their festival, the Fontinalia, was celebrated on October 13 by tossing good luck wreaths into wells. Among them are Aegiria, Antevorta, Carmentis (the leader), Porrima, Prorsa, Proversa, Postvorta, Tiburtis, and Timandra. October 14 Kitchen Witches celebrate the annual Feast of the Spirits of the Air on this day. Incense is offered up to the Sylphs (who often take the form of butterflies), and rituals involving dreams and/or the sacred powers of the mind are performed. October 15 The Ninth House:  Generic Meaning:  The House of Philosophy . It describes religion, travel and foreign countries, in-laws, higher education, publishing, import/export and ethics. The Libra influence over the ninth house suggests a significant interrelationship between outward appearance and moral code. Outer appearances reflect innermost attitudes. It is likely that you always display very good taste in your appearance, and, that you are put off by things of a crude nature. You are balanced in your views of life's more serious issues, and you have a strong sense of justice. The rulership of Venus over the ninth house denotes a considerable appreciation for education, travel, law and philosophy, the issues related to this sector of the chart. Cooperation and a strong sense of social justice are shown by this placement. In the Chinese calendar, this is the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, and therefore the “Double Ninth,” the Festival honoring the God of Nine Emperors--that is, a composite deity embodying the best qualities of  nine wise and pious emperors. The day is traditionally celebrated by activities including hill-climbing, kite flying, drinking chrysanthemum wine, hanging dogwood sprays, and honoring Senior Citizens.  The traditional food for this day is nut cakes    This day honors Bodhidharma, the Japanese Zen philosopher who taught that Buddhahood is innate in every human being, and can be activated with spiritual practice. Disirblot   October 16 Air Dragon Day - This day honors all Dragon's of the air and always falls on the last Saturday in the sign of Libra.  Today hang out a windsock with a dragon image on it and if the wind is strong enough take your children out to fly a dragon kite.  Dragon's love children and this is a day to honor that relationship. October 17 Full Moon  @ 24°13 Aries 5:14 am PDT Sabian Symbol: An open window and a net curtain blowing into the shape of a cornucopia The Full Moon in Aries points to a time when we may feel physically energized, perhaps even a little angry and "ready for action." We should take some of that energy and focus it on giving support and care to the people around us. Through our love and devotion we build strong bonds of community that are stronger than if we stand alone. Through developing harmonious relationships, we work towards a greater sense of integration with the world around us. Through communication and dialogue, we gain a better understanding of our role in the world and how we can positively impact our community. It is to spend time with our friends and loved ones, to honor and be thankful for the relationships we have and to acknowledge that these are the cornerstones of a good, healthy life.    October 18 In Parts of Britain, the Great Horn Fair is normally celebrated on this day each year to celebrate the wondrous powers of nature and fertility. Men parade in the streets with antlers fastened to their heads. All this is an ancient reminder of the power of the woodland God over the fertility of the forest beasts. He is the Opener of the Gates of Life and Death, the Great Father, the Lord of Nature. The Druids knew him as Hu Gadern, the Horned God of fertility. He has been called by a number of other names and is known far beyond Britain however. In Wales he was Atho, the horned God; in Windsor Forest he was Herne the Hunter; sometimes he was also called Cernunnos. October 20   Feast of the ancestors  October 21 St Ursula  Ursula was originally the German bear goddess, Orsel, and wonders if her companions are the stars in the sky surrounding the constellation of the Bear. Ursa Major, the great She-Bear known to us as the Plough or Dipper. The monthly position of the Bear Goddess's tail at nightfall was used to announce the arrival of the seasons. The Great Bear was known to the Greeks as Artemis and in the Far East as Ma Tsu Po, Queen of Heaven. October 22   October 23 Sun in Scorpio When the Sun is in Scorpio, think of the old saying about still waters running deep when you think of this passionate Water Sign. The mood will be intense -- and that mood hangs over everything from careers to cuddling -- but it is a smoldering, devious sort of intense. A slow burn. While the Sun visits this Sign, anticipate probing gazes and profound concentration. Scorpio wants nothing more than for us to be passionately engaged in activities that are significant and meaningful to us. No boredom is allowed, no busy or slog work (save that for Virgo or Taurus times) -- this is when you get to the heart of matters, when you find out what's behind masks, what lies beneath motivations. Careful to direct your energies, though, because if boredom does strike, talents are wasted and negative emotions come to the fore. Passions will be high, and physical love becomes engrossing, exciting, forceful and possessive. Watch for jealousy and vengeful whims. Scorpio stings when threatened. A good time for: Solving riddles and mysteries, delving into scientific issues Profoundly investigating topics that interest you Exploring sexual pleasure            October 24 Last Quarter Moon 1°44  Leo 6:15 pm PST    Today people will be inclined towards needing to be entertained and to get their mind on enjoying life. .When the Moon is waning in Leo it urges us to take special care of ourselves as well as the children in our life. Projects of interest are sometimes considered 'children' as well. If there is a hobby of special interest to you, take the time to brighten and enliven this work which represents your own talent and self reflection. The Moon simply calls for more playfulness! Throughout the working (or playing) day jokes will fly, toys of special interest will be admired and moods will reflect childlike frolic and revel. If you're serious about not being distracted by such playfulness perhaps a quiet workspace is the key. If you must work with others allow the frivolity to flow, the work will get done but the child in everyone has to play now and then. This is that time on the emotional plane.   October 25   October 26 Felicitas (Old Roman Goddess of Good Luck & Joy) October 28   October 29 Today is a weather marker. Called Frybod (or forebode) in the Medieval traditions, it is generally the start of the most brutal weather of the year. October 30 Day of Transformation into the Bennu Bird (Phoenix)   October 31 - Samhain The Celts called it Samhain, which means Summer's End, according to their ancient two-fold division of the year, when summer ran from Beltane to Samhain and winter ran from Samhain to Beltane. Samhain is pronounced (depending on where you're from) as sow-in (in Ireland), or sow-een (in Wales), or sav-en (in Scotland), or (inevitably) sam-hane (in the U. S., where most wouldn't know and don't speak Gaelic). This Sabbat can also be known as: The Feast of the Dead (Fleadh nan Mairbh), Last Harvest,  Summer's End, Hallowmas, All Hallow's Eve, Festival of the Dead, All Saint's Day,  Third Festival of Harvest, November Eve, Feast of Apples, Hallows, Shadowfest, Martinmas, Hollantide, All Hallows Tide, and The Great Sabbat. Samhain hosted a time of family reunion and reaffirming ties of friendship and social bonds. Also, in the agricultural communities, this was the time to bring in all the live stock from the hills and slaughter those animals that would not survive pasture for the Winter. Consequently, spirits often return on this night to visit their kin and friends during the celebrations should they wish to do so; many customs revolve around the return of spirits, as you will see. It was a natural thought that the approach of winter should drive the poor, shivering, hungry ghosts from the bare fields and the leafless woodlands to the shelter of the cottage with its familiar fireside. Burial cairns are opened and the village folk light torches lining the walls and path out so the dead can safely navigate their way out. Candles are set in the windows to guide spirits safely to the house (some say as a guide to Summerland); elemental beacons. Plates of food and drink are left outside for the souls of the dead, and apples or pears are buried in the Earth to nourish those who have died but chosen not to rise. In more than a few regions, additional places are laid at the table for dead family so that when they come to visit, they will feel at home and not go hungry. Feast of Sekhmet Bast