New Moon & Solar Eclipse

New Moon & Solar Eclipse

New Moon in Pisces

Moment of reflection, introspection, awakening and spiritual search, the new moon has arrived, well called "the NEW moon", and just as the moon has once again restarted its cycle to submerge the day into a new rebirth, it is also time we take advice, follow her steps, and try to renew ourselves.

Renewal should not come by complacency towards others, much less by the standards that a society has not dictated, renewal is yours. It is time to deepen in yourself, honestly analyze how much of ourselves we must change, what trends we must negate, and what new forms of entrepreneurship and progress we want to learn. The new moon is the best cycle to put aside bad habits, abandon all kinds of addictions and plan (step by step) how to immerse ourselves in a new project.

The moon advances with the passing of days, and as it advances to become a gigantic globe of light that illuminates the darkest and icy night, being seen from any point of the earth, it is time to learn, to renew, to recognize those Aspects of ourselves that we must change, and know those negative tendencies that we do not know, it is time for renewal and I invite you to try.

The new moon that occurs on Sunday, February 26, will be positioned in the Astrological Sign of Pisces, it will be the first moment of this year where the Sun, Moon and Neptune are perfectly under the influence of the same Water Sign. For those born under the sign of the fish, this is clearly a good omen, a moment that beyond renewal, invites them to grow emotionally, to start from scratch a new project of life, and to wear blue, lilac and Violet to positively channel your sign and thus nourish yourself with your energy. To those who were born illuminated by a different zodiacal sign Pisces, the new moon invites us to carry out a meditation, to pray, to swim in the sea or in the river and even to study new forms of spirituality, to burn sage at home for Renew energies and clean the house with essences of geranium and roses to attract the good vibes and allow these to reap blessings our projects.

The new moon in Pisces tends to be an absorbing moon, extracts energies from any nearby light preparing to be reborn in the following days, so it is common that between Thursdays and Tuesdays you may feel somewhat overwhelmed, bored, tired and even unstable. The effects of the new moon per se exhaust all mammals, but the moon in Pisces tends to play with our spirituality, so take precautions, try to stay well hydrated for the next few days, do not overeat and plan a way out Of recognition around your home, it's time to get in touch with the people around you.

Solar Annular Eclipse

Simultaneous to the renewal of the lunar cycle in Pisces, another of our great stars is thinking of renewing itself, and it happens that it will happen on the same day and in the same Sign. The Sun will be covered with the lunar shadow indicating (as is well known) an omen of sudden changes that come to alter the world and our understanding of what is happening.

The solar eclipse that will occur due to the transit of the moon between the earth and the king star, will almost completely obscure the image of the Sun from the earth, this astrological event of great importance will be visible from South America in the morning and In southwest Africa at dusk.

Solar eclipses usually mark a Before and After in the mystical and spiritual panorama of all living beings, usually this "Before and after" ends up being reflected in the political and socio economic field. Be attentive to the news in your respective countries, because the coming changes will not please many and clearly favor a few.

It is not surprising that the Sun and Moon carry out their corresponding renewal on the same day, in fact this is a common factor in the field of astronomy, but if it is intriguing the fact that both stars, together with Neptune Planet regent of Pisces) are aligned in the same sign the same day, casually, the sign of Pisces. This sign represents the greek gods Aphrodite and Ares fleeing Olympus during the invasion of the Titans in one of the most important mythological wars, both deities descended from Olympus and disguised themselves as fish to swim to a nearby river, and that is how love and war fled from destruction.

On the other hand, Neptune is the planet that governs the marine currents and the storms that arrive of unforeseen, Neptuno is in turn the God regent of the seas and of all the marine creatures, also is the propagator of the earthquakes and tidal waves, who Never in history has been characterized by being very patient when shaking his trident, in fact, history tells us in many different versions, that Neptune used to kill any people that would break his calm or offend his children, bringing continuous floods and earthquakes, being the most evident case of these, the disappearance of the Atlantis that has been documented and researched in so many occasions.

Neptune is characterized by shaking the tides when he sees that something is wrong, his position conveniently in Pisces along with the Sun and Moon this next Sunday predict strong omens of change that would not last much in being visible to all. I am sure that more than some clairvoyant and soothsayer in social networks will be present in the coming days to predict certain changes. Many times the changes can be undesirable, many other times they present with a great series of inconveniences, but in any case, changes are necessary, especially when they are situations that go beyond our control, as in the political landscape where the whole power of a nation is contained in the little hands of a single individual.

Happy new moon and Happy solar eclipse.

Note: Do not forget that if you want to receive the rituals corresponding to these and other upcoming events, you must enter in my web www.elhoimleafar.com and subscribe to the mailing list. You can also follow me on your favorite social network and ask what you like, for this I leave the links below.

Blessings and good vibes, Elhoim.

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Magickal September Begins

Magickal September Begins

This wonderful Thursday (day ruled by Jupiter) marked the beginning of September and mark it in style, with the Sun and the Moon in the Sign of Virgo and more than that, with a Powerful Annular Eclipse of the sun Virgo. Eclipse that many Witches, Shamans and other Believers colleagues in different parts of the world have taken full advantage of for charging their amulets, perform annual Rituals and various charms.

This month gets its name from the Latin root of the seventh because it was the seventh month of the Roman Calendar it is a month full of great Pagan festivals as well as terrible misfortunes. The World War II started and ended in the month of September. (1939-1945.), also, the unforgettable and tragic 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers occurred during this month.

During this month the Sun God is aligned with the Zodiac sign of Virgo, while Lunar Goddess is aligned with the sign of Pisces.

The Many Meanings of the Rio 2016 Olympic Flame

The Many Meanings of the Rio 2016 Olympic Flame

Yesterday August 5, we witnessed an amazing Opening Ceremony of the Olympics and, as usual, the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron was the highlight of the evening, but there is more to it than just a nice torch with a wind-powered sculpture. This post will explain the multiple meanings the Olympic Cauldron and Flame have acquired through the years until Rio 2016. We will start with the traditional symbols of modern day Olympic flame and then we will jump to the new ones adopted by Rio 2016.

Side view of the 2016 Olympic Cauldron. Getty Images

An Allegory to the Origin of Civilization

The Olympic Cauldron is one of the core symbols of the Modern Olympic Games, along with the Olympic Flag, the Olympic Rings and the Olympic Anthem, but it certainly is the only one of these that actually has something to do with the Ancient Olympic Games in Old Greece.

As many know, the Olympic Cauldron holds the Olympic Flame, a fire that every four years travels the world from ancient Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the host city, but why do we go into all that trouble? It all has to do with the Greek Mythology. The Olympic Flame was originally lit in the arena, together with the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hera in Olympia. All of these lightnings were made by Virgin Priestesses using the fire from the everlasting flame in the Temple of Hestia. Hestia was the Goddess Protector of family, architecture, homey warmth and the cooking. After the sacred fire was handled to humans by Prometheus, the flame had to be kept. For this work the Virgin Priestesses of Hestia were raised from early childhood and were considered ones of the most important priestesses in all of Greece. 

As mentioned above, the “Sacred Flame” has an important mythological meaning. In Greek Mythology, the fire was given to men by the Titan Prometheus. He had stone a flame from Zeus himself on Mount Olympus. When humankind got the fire, the first civilization could flourish, hence the fire represents the beginning of Greek civilization and hence, for them, all civilizations. That is why an everlasting flame was kept on the temple of the Goddess Hestia. It was said that that flame was lit from that original fire brought by the titan Prometheus himself, who stole it from Zeus, the king of the Gods and gave it to men. According to the myth, the fire was what fueled the growth of civilization, progress, arts and technology. Even in modern cities like New York, Prometheus' fire is represented as the fuel for progress.

Golden Statue of Prometheus in New York.

The Olympic Games themselves were a fuel of development, art and culture. They were held in honor of the God Zeus and were the most important religious ritual of Ancient Greece and a heavily cultural festival. The Temple of Zeus in Olympia was crowned with the majestic Statue of Zeus, one of the 7 Wonders of the World. The games also attracted poets, sculptors, painters and architects, making it also one of the most powerful cultural engines of ancient Greece. Recall the statue of the Olympic discus thrower, for example.

Discobolus in National Roman Museum Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. Roman copy of a greek sculpture made at the Olympic Games. Photo from Wikipedia (Livioandronico2013)

A Symbol of Peace

Ever from the beginning, the Ancient Olympic Games symbolized a truce in ancient Greece. All the wars, riots and even crimes were held on pause for the duration of the Games, so the Greeks started relating the burning of the Olympic Flame with peaceful times. Everyone in Greece knew they could roam free the country and be safe as long as the Olympic Flame were burning on Olympia.

When the Modern Olympics were reinvented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1894, his dream was always to associate the games with peace and the hope for a better future. It was not until 1928, on the Amsterdam Olympics, that the perfect symbol for that message was found. These marked the first games to reinvent the Olympic Flame.

A symbol of Human Endeavor

The Olympic flame burning in Athens at 1928 was lit by an electric company employee, not very ceremonial. History had to wait to one of its darkest times for the flame to take another meaning. I am referring to Nazi Germany. 

The games of Berlin in 1936 were held by a Nazi Germany in a failed attempt to prove to the World the “superiority" of Germany. Hitler himself preceded the games and he ordered to not held back on spectacle. These were the first games to be televised and broadcasted worldwide. The travel of the torch from ancient Greece to modern day Germany was included to “signify” their link to the Greek culture. This message never came across and was quickly debunked. The Olympics were then cancelled twice due to World Wars I and II until London 1948. This time around the Torch was also lit in Olympia and traveled to London, but now the relay of the torch was received with joy and was given the meaning of how Humanity can accomplish great things when working together instead of fighting each other, a message that fit like a glove to an Europe vastly destroyed by war. Ever since, the “passing of the torch” from one athlete to the next and the different ways the torch has traveled through the years has become a celebration of how humanity has come together and is capable of achieving greatness and travelling distances. The olympic games have from then on succeeded in moving he torch each time on larger distances and through more innovative ways to transport. the have included: On foot, on horse ride, on cars, ships, traditional canoes, airplanes, underwater, in a flaming arrow, through radio waves and lasers across the ocean. These accomplishments of carrying the flame has been highly televised and celebrated by all mankind on the months leading to the Olympics.

Travel of the Olympic Flame to the Sidney 2000 Olympics underwater. Getty Images

These are the traditional symbolisms of the Olympic Torch, now going back to the new symbolisms being adopted by the Olympic Flame from Rio 2016 and why it is one of the most important ones.

A Symbol of Love and Tolerance

Rio 2016 marks the first year that one of the many "Passing the Torch" moments has been marked by a same-sex kiss between two men, symbolizing tolerance, respect and love. Even in past games, the passing of the torch has always been a symbol of friendship between different races and different types of people but this is the first time the LGBT community is being represented right in the front page, specially in an industry recognized as highly homophobic, as it is the sports industry, and essentially after the Sochi Olympics were famous for being "homophobic Games" due to the fact that even showing a rainbow flag guaranteed a straight-to-prison card to athletes and spectators alike. This act of passing the torch through a gay kiss is the Olympic Games telling us "We are not Sochi, we celebate love".

A same-sex kiss between two men marks the passing of the torch on its way to the Rio 2016 Olympics. Photo by Pedro Veríssimo.

A symbol of the Sun

All those trouble that has been taken to move the torch from Greece to the Olympic Stadium has a very important reason. As was explained above, the original flame came from the “Sacred Fire” but with the decay of Greek Civilization, that original flame is long extinct. The new games keep the spirit of that tradition with a twist. Every Olympic year, 12 new “Virgins of Hestia” reunite in the ruins of the Temple of Hestia in Olympia and light the first Olympic Flame of the games by concentrating sun rays in a mirror. Hence, the Olympic Torch comes not from a lighter or a spark, but by the Rays of The Sun, as a gift from Apollo himself. The ceremony is obviously less flamboyant than the Opening Ceremony, but it is rich in mythology. The Sun is the fuel that allows life on Earth and without it nothing could survive. The Solar Deities have been always important in human history, not only in Greece. (Remember Ra in Ancient Egypt or the Horned Sun God in modern Wicca.) The use of the Sun to light the Olympic Flame and the posterior travel of it is a metaphor of how we can use the natural resources and transform them into something much better but only if we work together. The organizers of Rio 2016 made the message even more important by shaping the Olympic Cauldron into a magnificent sculpture representing the Sun, a message that is more evident when you see the location of the torch in the Stadium is right above the model of the city that has been used throughout the whole ceremony, as telling you it is the Sun above Rio.

Virgins of Hestia Lighting the Olympic Flame from rays of the Sun in the Temple of Hestia. Euronews.

A Symbol of Sustainable Power Source

Rio 2016 is strong in its environmentalist message, but the Olympic Cauldron is even stronger on it. As the years go by, the Olympic Torch has become significantly larger and the flame has become also larger with every game. If not, try to remember the ridiculously tall cauldrons of Athens 2004 and Sochi 2012 games. London’s cauldron was composed of 204 different moving “petals” each one with its own connection to a natural gas source. Then Rio came and proposed what appears to be the smallest cauldron in the history of modern Olympic Games. On first glance when watching the ceremony, people started to get angry or disappointed until it was raised to its final position at the center of a Kinetic Structure that, s was said above, signifies the Sun.

The genius of this design is that by being the smallest Olympic Cauldron, it is also the greenest one, it uses the least amount of natural gas in modern history. You don’t need a big massive torch to give an amazing spectacle, and the mirrors in the rays of the kinetic sculpture even turned the Olympic Flame into a light spectacle that flooded the whole stadium like no other Olympic Flame has ever done. This movement of the sculpture is also green as it uses Wind Energy, not electricity. This cauldron proves that we can reduce the use of fossil fuels, we can use Wind and Solar energy and still have the most amazing olympic cauldron of all time, and that is also a Symbol of Hope for the future of Humanity.

Rio 2016 official facebook page.

Cernunnos

Cernunnos

The primordial God has been represented in many ways over time, it has incarnated many times among men, being one of its most popular incarnations that of Cernunnos as regent God of certain parts of Europe Centuries before Christ.

Cernunnos is one of the main incarnations of the Sun God on earth, son and at the same time consort of the Mother Goddess, is the deity that protects us when we entered his territory and which we pray to in the hours that the Sun shines in the firmament.

A major facet of the Father God both in Wicca and in the diversity of neo-pagan religions is Cernunnos, the God of abundance, fertility and wild animals, the complex King protector of the forests and everything that inhabits them, Lord who rules over all the beasts and rules equally over men and mostly the masculine.

Cernunnos is represented as a fairly large, muscular man with long, thick beard, ears and antlers of “Cervidae” (deer), and carrying a Torque or closed metal collar, is very common in older representations to find him accompanied by a snake with horns that symbolizes renewal and change.

Cernunnos is presented to us in the form of a bald old man with a beard, dressed in skins and usually carries a stick of dark wood that is usually his partner snake in a more discreet manner, is rigid in its rules and very demanding with his devotees but highly protective of those who worship him.

Cernunnos protects forests and the animals being who ridicule or lose hunters who enter his lands, as the God of nature also protects men provided they do not hunt for competition or pleasure.

It was the ruling deity of Denmark and Scotland before these countries received the names. In fact Cernunnos was adored by shamans from the first two centuries before the advent of Christianity.

As deity rules over men and wild animals alike, being the ruler of all living things that move by air, land and water while the Moon Goddess rules above plants and gardens and over certain specific forest creatures who act as their messengers, such as butterflies, frogs, rabbits and lambs.

Cernunnos is worshiped while the Sun is on the scene at any time of day, before sunset and after sunrise. He is worshiped in forests, rivers and fields. Meals are prepared out of fruits and grains to decorate his Altar and they are serviced between dawn and noon. In his Altar are often placed leather garments and representations of various wild animals like the lion, the bear, the deer and the ox.

Cernunnos especially protects the wooden houses, the homes surrounded by woods and gardens and the men who work with their hands as blacksmiths, mechanics, hunters, artists and craftsmen. In order to receive his protection, some people tattoo an image of God or a solar symbol on the wrist, abdomen or neck.

From the Book "Rites of Happiness"
Author: Elhoim Leafar
© Copyright
Available in: CreateSpace and Amazon Kindle

The Sun God

The Sun God

As in Wicca we worship a Goddess Moon multifaceted, there is also her counterpart, the Sun God, the Golden King Star that shines in the day. From immemorial times tribes worshiped the Sun and Moon as great lights regents of the sky and turning on our first kings, rulers eternal day and night, caretakers of the earth and all living things, lovers looking at each other in a constant dance that influences all aspects of everyday life.

The sun has been worshiped as a powerful deity in many cultures through history, in Egypt, Greece, India, China, Japan, Mexico and many others where it has been considered a Father God, and that is, we are talking of God son and at the same time consort of the Moon Goddess.

The Sun shows us different facets of himself every day, and each of these facets are part of a magical cycle that gives us enough time and power to fulfill all our wishes and desires, allowing us to shine as much as he does shine for us.

The Rising Sun the golden light that takes darkness of the night away. It is like a baby who every day opens his eyes and impresses us as much as the first time. The energy of this first phase of the Sun God is a very energy young, very fresh and very intimate at the same time.

This is the proper solar phase to avert the power of light that illuminates our paths and our ways, to illuminate our homes and our businesses, it is also the time that allows awakening of hidden talents and bestows good luck.

The Morning Sun the rebellious child, perhaps the young adventurer, is how we perceive the sun god in this aspect where the fire is paramount. During the morning is when the sun rises above the earth, the light reaches everywhere and darkness is immersed in the shadows, is pure energy and power, so lively and eclectic as teenagers in this aspect, is when children renewed their energy and already we note that it is a new day.

The morning sun is the right phase for generating positive changes in health and love, to renew our own home and energy, to pay tribute to Sun God and the fallen kings, is the phase in which we bless those amulets who use dried herbs and gems dedicated to the Sun or the zodiacal signs.

The noon Sun symbolizes maturity and success. The power of fire comes alive more than ever. Here we invoke the Father God and ask for all we need in our lives. The Sun has come here to show his adulthood and leaves us unconscious with incandescent flames of gold. It is an overdose of energy that gives us so that we have an extra light needed in the day.

During the noon the Sun takes over everything that is in his sight, does not allow anything or anyone to overshadow him and governs us as an imposing Ruler but also cunning and merciful.

The Afternoon Sun that noble and romantic God who rules over dusk with his presence, which is imposed on the horizon and shines warmer than ever, symbolizes old age and experience, it's time for all kinds of magic associated with friendships and social relations, progress of family and teamwork.

The Afternoon Sun is the God who has reached the absolute maturity, there is no better opportunity to pay tribute to the spirits and priests of solar magic, pray to the gods in order to to get us out of any trouble or strengthen bonds of love. It is right time to relax a little and start planning projects for the next day, organize and bless those who are with us now.

Sundown or Twilight that is how is called this last aspect of the Sun God. On the day is the King God, now he farewells with pride and elegance, as all kings should leave, he hides distantly in the mountains viewing life on earth as a farmer checks his harvest, watching us from afar with love and grace, and bounces back the landscape in an almost hypnotic event where we see him disappear with his last shine.

The Sunset symbolizes death and the outcome, it is time to pay tribute to the dead, thank for being alive, start rituals that enable us to get every aspect of our lives or disassociate a person or situation we do not want in our lives.