The Gibbous moon phase runs from 10.5 days after the New Moon until the moment of the Full Moon (14 days after New).  It rises in the mid-afternoon and sets around 0300 (”zero-dark-stupid” as we called it in the Army).

Gibbous moon energies are good for workings that involve:

• Patience
• Peace
• Courage

The Gibbous moon hold the promise of the Full, but is not quite there .. although with a few days’ patience the fulfillment always arrives.

It begins from 7 days past the New Moon and lasts until 10.5 days past the New.  The First Quarter moon will rise around noontime and set around midnight.

The First Quarter moon energies are best for:

• Elemental Magick and meditations
• spells for luck
• spells for self-improvement

All of these workings are directed at improving yourself or your magick, and the First Quarter is the best time to do them as you look inward.

This past semester, the other class I took was forensic science, and at the beginning we learned of something called the Locard Principle: “with contact between two items, there will be an exchange.”  (BTW I got an A in that class, as opposed to the D in organic chem.)  While Locard was the head of a crime lab, his principle has definite application in magick!

When you annoint a candle by hand, your skin oils and epithelial cells (dead skin cells) also transfer on the microscopic level, which tranfers a little of yourself into the candle wax along with the scented oil.

This right here is perhaps the best argument for the “do it yourself” crowd in candle magick.  Along with imbuing the candles with your intent, you literally put a little tiny bit of yourself into the wax!

So, what’s the big deal about candle colors?  It is an extra “boost” when certain colors have certain meanings to you.  Different traditions use different color correspondences, but here are mine:

• Red: Fire Element, energy, strength, courage, passion, romantic love
• Orange: Goals, motivation, business & legal affairs, action, self-esteem
• Yellow: Air Element, intelligence, learning, communication, creativity
• Green: Earth Element, money, growth, fertility, luck, herbal/plant magick
• Blue: Water Element, peace, healing, intuition, emotion
• Purple: Spirit Element, psychic ability, wisdom, spiritual development
• Brown: endurance, animal magick, home & hearth
• Black: protection, banishment, power, ward setting
• White: purity, cleansing, truth, spirituality
• Pink: friendship, emotional healing

As I mentioned, different paths may have different correspondences for the colors.  A fun exercise: If I am using green, orange, and yellow candles what am I working on?

The good news is, I passed organic chemistry.  The not-so-good news is I passed with a D, which means my GPA will never be the same.  Rumor has it this particular professor is known all over the state for being excrutiatingly tough, and that several graduate programs give students who go through his class a form of “extra credit” to try to make up for the damage he and his class do to GPAs.

Blog note: I have added a “Comment Policy” page to Wicca Warrior.  This is NOT aimed at anyone in particular; it has been on my to-do list because of the experiences I have had with comment abuse on my other blog.  No comments have been deleted, but I thought I should put the policy up before I start having problems on this blog.

Now, to get back to blogging.  Is there anything anyone wants to see in the coming days?

I still have a project and final in forensic chemistry (tomorrow evening) then the lecture final for organic chemistry along with the lab report being due.

I am reading all the comments, even if I am not participating right now, and will get back into the swing of posting regularly after finals are finally over.  Maybe that is why they are called “finals”?  Because after it is over and done, all you have the mental energy left to do it sigh with relief and say “FINALLY!”  Just my stressed observation LOL

I won’t answer for any other religion, but I don’t see any conflict between Wicca and science.  I am currently a chemistry major, and have been taught about molecules, atoms, protons, electrons, nuetrons and chemical bonds.  This is all taught as scientific fact, but here’s the catch: no one has been able to see an electron.  No one has seen an individual atom.  No one has seen an individual molecule, not even a large biochain.

The irony here is chemistry is a science, while magick is often labelled “superstition.”  We are taught to believe that molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles exist and behave a certain way.  Not much different from Wicca: we are taught that the energies and spells exist and work in a certain way.  We can’t see the energies and forces that work in our lives, yet we are certain they are there and they follow certain behaviors.

There are things science can’t explain yet.  That doesn’t invalidate science … we simply say we don’t have the technology or theories to explain those things yet.  There are things Wicca can’t explain (Kyle has brought up Hitler in the comments of this post) but just as for science, perhaps we just don’t have the ability to explain yet.  That doesn’t invalidate Wicca any more than it would invalidate science.

Ultimately, it’s called “belief” and “faith” for a reason.  If you prefer to believe in electrons rather than the gods that is certainly your choice and you are free to make it.  I just don’t think anyone who believes in electrons can rightfully criticize someone who believes in deity, as some are wont to do.  A couple other scientific Wiccans who blog are TheWiccanScientist and Witches and Scientists.

First: does anyone have the right to demand an apology without abridging someone else’s freedom of speech?  Absolutely!  Until you cross the line of libel/slander, inciting riots, and death threats, you can pretty much express your opinions to your heart’s content.  We Wiccans (especially we MILITARY Wiccans) demanded an apology from Bob Barr back in 1999 and we still demand an apology from him.  We also demanded an apology from then-Governor and presidential candidate George W. Bush in 2000 for agreeing with Bob Barr’s 1999 statements and actions.

Did we in any way censor or abridge either man’s freedom of speech?  Not at all!  In fact they have spent the last 8-9 years continuing to offend and insult us without impediment.  I’m sure someone demanding an apology from Bill Maher will have the same effect.

Back to Bill Maher: can Catholics and Christian fundamentalists demand an apology from him?  Sure, they can demand all they want … they’ll probably have as much success as we Wiccans have had (which has been NONE).  But it is still their First Amendment right (Freedom of Speech) to demand that apology, whether they are successful or not.

The disseminating moon lasts from 3.5 to 7 days after the exact full (17.5 to 21 days after the new moon) and rises during mid-evening (after nightfall in most seasons) and sets around mid-morning.

Disseminating moon energy is good for:

• making decisions
• protection spells
• working on removing stress and negative emotions from your life

As you can see, the energies of the waning moon phases are for pushing things OUT from you, and keeping undesired things out of yourself and your surroundings.  The more the moon wanes, the stronger the “push” gets (more in following waning phases).

We could be nice: “Thank you for your concern.”

We could be honest: “I don’t believe in Hell.  I believe in reincarnation, the ultimate in recycling.”

We could be sardonic: “So I’ll see you at the welcoming Hell-warming party when I get there!”

We could engage in a theological discussion: “What kind of ‘loving’ god would create a place like Hell?”  Warning - this one could lead to a very long discussion on the nature of Deity and humans’ place in the grand scheme of things.  Choose your debate opponent on this one very carefully.  On the flip side, this response usually brings about some very interesting discussions!

This judgement becomes painful when it is heard from the lips of a close friend or family member.  My own mother has told me I am going to Hell because of my religious beliefs.  Then she usually starts crying for me.  It’s a very uncomfortable situation, and no response I can think of will sooth the pain of her certainty that my soul is now damned.

So just how do you as a Wiccan or Pagan respond when someone tells you that you are going to Hell because of your beliefs?  Especially when it’s a family member or close friend?