Magickal Month- February

February 2018
February 2018

The name February came from the Latin Februum, meaning purification. The festival named Februa was the festival of purification that was celebrated on February 15th. Purification is an interesting theme for this month, as we’ve been stuck inside all winter. The air is stale, our moods are stale, and it’s time to get some fresh air. It’s also a good time to anticipate Spring and all the new things we want to start.

In fact, Imbolc, the major Pagan holiday in February, is a great time to welcome the light (in the form of the candles we burn) in an attempt to fight the darkness that we’ve been stuck in for the last few months. It’s a time where there’s still a chill in the air, but the days are slightly longer and there’s the barest inkling of hope for Spring. We may even get a warmer day here and there interspersed with the cold. Or we may get a surprise blizzard. Either way, you can feel the change in the air. You may even see crocuses and the bright yellow glow of daffodils opening up. You may see more birds again as some return to the area. It’s a great time to go enjoy the last of the winter chill, but in the sun.

A few days ago, I saw at least a dozen crows having it out in a tree in my mom’s back yard. I kept waiting for them to disperse, but more and more kept joining in. As a Ravenson, I see crows as ancestors too (we don’t see ravens here in Georgia much), so I always pay attention to them. When I went home, I found that my dog had passed. Thanks for the forewarning, crows. I wish I’d understood your message.

Lunations:
(Note that there is no full moon in February this year, which highlights the darkness of this time of year. It’s a good time to rest and reflect without the high energy of the full moon. Take advantage of the quiet time and go inward.)
New Moon in Aquarius, February 15th at 4:06pm (EST)

Astronomy:
Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, February 15th. (This is a partial eclipse, and it won’t be visible anywhere in the Northern hemisphere. We can still use the energy of renewal- letting go of the old and bringing in the new!)

Celtic Tree Month:
Rowan (Jan 21st- Feb 17th): Protection, inspiration, vision, clearing the mind for meditation, attunes us to nature, broadens perspectives, protects from harm on a journey, brings spiritual enlightenment, hidden mysteries of nature and quickening of life force
Ash (Feb 18th- Mar 17th): Mastership and power, psychic/prophetic dreams, strength, harmony, being in tune with your surroundings, heals loneliness of human spirit by forming a link between gods, man, and the dead, key to universal truth and cosmic wisdom, tree of initiation.

Holidays (not Pagan):
February 2nd- Goundhog Day
February 4th- Rosa Parks Day
February 12th- Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday
February 13th- Maha Shivaratri (Hindu festival honoring Shiva)
February 13th- Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras (Catholic)
February 14th- Ash Wednesday (Catholic)
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 15th- Susan B Anthony’s Birthday
February 16th- Chinese New Year
February 19th- President’s Day

Holidays (Pagan):
February 1st- Imbolc
February 1st-14th- Old Greek festival of Dionysus
February 5th and 6th- Festival honoring Isis the Healer
February 13th-15th- Lupercalia, honoring Fauna/Faunus, dedicated to celebrating love
February 14th-17th- Old lunar new year, dedicated to the Triple Goddess and her transformation from crone into maiden again
February 16th-17th- Anthesterion Noumenia- Greek festival honoring all the gods, where libations of wine and bread were offered
February 19th-20th- Feast of Aphrodite and Eros
February 21st-22nd- Festival honoring Artemis
February 22- Caristia- Roman festival of family and settling arguments
February 26- March 1st- Anthesteria- Festival honoring Dionysos as welcomer of the dead to the underworld
February 28th- Velja Noc (Great Night)- Slavic festival of the dead, where ancestors visit their families, and people walk through villages wearing wool cloaks and animal masks to represent their presence

Themes for the month: The three faces of Brigid- Goddess of the forge (What do I want to build?), Goddess of poetry (How can I create beauty?), Goddess of healing (How can I use my healing spark for the betterment of myself and others?). Love and romance. Purification, planting seeds that will germinate and sprout in the Spring. Welcoming the sun back from its slumber by honoring it with candles.

General activities for the month: Purification, rejuvenation, cleaning house, letting in fresh air. Celebrating Valentine’s Day/Lupercalia with your loved ones. Deciding what you wish to focus on manifesting for the year, planting the seeds, getting the soil ready. Planting actual seeds that will be transferred to the garden in the Spring. Finishing up Winter projects. Lighting lots of candles to bring in new light.

Herbs I’m using:
Ginger and hibiscus tea- so warming and enlivening!
Cinnamon- Great for prosperity magick, something I’m planting the seeds for
Frankincense- Very sunny and warming, brings new life into my space when I burn it

Stones I’m using:
Aventurine- Growth and prosperity
Optical calcite- clear vision of the future
Garnet- passion, strength, and motivation

Goddess of the Month: Clearly this month must be dedicated to Aphrodite. What better time to celebrate love and sexuality than the long cold days of deep Winter? You can see my blog post about her over at MoonBooks.

3 card reading:

February 2018 reading
February 2018 reading

This month’s reading seems a little bleak to be honest. However, it’s always nice to get forewarning on the things that may trip us up.

First, we see the Queen of Pentacles reversed. When the Queen of Pentacles is upright, she represents security, happiness, family wellbeing, and financial success. But she’s reversed here, and when Mama ain’t happy, ain’t NOBODY happy. So in this position, she shows us worrying about money troubles. Maybe we’ve given away our power to someone else who failed us, or we’ve been neglecting our responsibilities, but things have gone horribly awry. We aren’t grounded or stable, and it feels like we’re in chaos.

Next, we see the 2 of Wands reversed. So there’s been a setback, and we need to go back to the beginning. Perhaps we started a new business venture or tried to get an idea off the ground, but it didn’t work out. Again, that can be due to a partnership that failed, or just not having the skills needed to make things happen. So at this point, there’s no use trying again to get things off the ground. It’s better to scrap everything and start completely over, perhaps on a different path or by building our skills up first to tackle the same project again. This could also mean that because we’re trying to keep our feet under us, financially speaking, now is not the time to start anything new.

Last, we have the Hanged Man reversed. In his upright position, he usually signifies sacrificing material comforts to go within and explore his spirituality and inner landscape. But reversed, he’s clearly hanging on too much to the material. So while we need to address the problems shown with the Queen of Pentacles reversed, we also need to not let our money worries overcome us. If we spend too much time dwelling on money and stability, we miss opportunities to learn and grow. So take out some time to refresh yourself spiritually as well. It’s a great time of year for that inner work, after all.

Our special guidance card here is The Moon. I find this kind of interesting, considering there isn’t a full moon in February this year. So we’re focusing on what we’re lacking here. But the real message here is to look deeper. We need to find the deeper meanings in our fears around money, and deal with them. We need to look for what’s hidden, and trust our gut. There’s a path forward, we just need to find it by the light of the moon, which reveals secrets.

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A Winter Landscape by Mathilde Blind

All night, all day, in dizzy, downward flight,
Fell the wild-whirling, vague, chaotic snow,
Till every landmark of the earth below,
Trees, moorlands, roads, and each familiar sight
Were blotted out by the bewildering white.
And winds, now shrieking loud, now whimpering low,
Seemed lamentations for the world-old woe
That death must swallow life, and darkness light.

But all at once the rack was blown away,
The snowstorm hushing ended in a sigh;
Then like a flame the crescent moon on high
Leaped forth among the planets; pure as they,
Earth vied in whiteness with the Milky Way:
Herself a star beneath the starry sky.

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My personal tides: On a personal level, I’ve been exhausted. I intended to rest through January, but kept getting caught up in various things that prevented that. I also lost one of my puppies, so I’ve been kind of wrecked. But I still haven’t succumbed to full, deep depression. For me, that’s a minor miracle at this time of year even without an upset like that.

I calculated my tarot card for the year, and it’s the Hermit. That feels SO right. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I really can’t focus on building momentum and making connections until I get my inner Amie right. I really want to connect on a much smaller scale, and keep parts of myself to myself. Last year, I kept trying to ‘give it all away’, and I paid the price. I want to spend more time building my tarot knowledge and skills, creating, finding ways to make meaningful income, and taking care of myself. If I don’t have plans every other night, and I’m not trying to stay constantly connected and available, so much the better.

I am a little bummed that I didn’t see some goals through in January, but I hope to make up for that this month.

Also, I LOVE Valentine’s Day. Bear and I will do our traditional fondue feast, and feel gross for 3 days afterwards. I’m so lucky to have him in my life. <3

My personal goals: I’m going to be writing, studying tarot, and adding a new line of ‘Magickal Goodies’ to my Etsy shop. My main goal in life is to show people that magick exists if they just take a moment to look around themselves, and I’m going to be working toward that aim in creating the new things I want to sell.

In Closing:  I hope your February is amazing!  I hope you’re able to purify what needs to be purified, whether that be your living space, your body, your mind, or your spirit.  I also wish you success with the seeds you plant now.  May we be ever fruitful in our undertakings!

Blessed be!  <3