Lucya Starza - Every Day Magic--A Pagan Book of Days: 366 Magical Ways To Observe The Cycle Of The Year

First published by Moon Books, 2017

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Text copyright: Lucya Starza 2016

ISBN: 978 1 78535 567 7

978 1 78535 568 4 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016963554

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Lucya Starza as editor have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY, UK

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Many thanks to Trevor Greenfield for his support as publisher at Moon Books, John Davies for proofreading, Paula Dempsey for her advice on astrology and help with writing the introductions to each month, and the artist Carl Newman for letting me photograph one of his beautiful hare brooches as part of my front cover collage.

As the publisher of Moon Books it is my pleasant task to welcome Every Day Magic A Pagan Book of Days into the Moon Books catalogue, to thank each of the contributors for their efforts and for sharing their knowledge and wisdom, and to congratulate Lucya Starza on the extraordinary achievement of bringing together writers from across the globe and organizing their work into a book that offers a treasure trove of ideas and information.

From a Moon Books perspective, Every Day Magic is not just another Pagan title. When we started Moon Books, more than five years ago, one of the critical success factors for us would be the extent to which we were able to engender a community of authors, both those writing best-sellers and those who wished to offer contributions to anthologies, who at times would come together and produce books exactly like thisa book authored by the Moon Books community of writers for the Moon Books community of readers.

Every Day Magic is designed to be read and reread. It is a book for the discerning shelf, to be referenced many times over many years. So here it is, a celebration of the Pagan traditions spread out across the year. May every reading be a blessing

Trevor Greenfield

Every Day Magic A Pagan Book of Days contains 366 spells, rituals, meditations, Pagan prayers, divinatory techniques, poems to read and recipes and craft projects to try out along with the details of festivals that take place throughout the year. All the activities are intended to be easy to follow so you can just pick up the book, open it to a day and find something you can do. There are festivals from the ancient world and modern Pagan celebrations as well as other annual events with a Pagan or shamanic feel, such as Earth Day on April 22.

The book is a compilation of contributions from the Moon Books community of authors and writers, giving an insight into different traditions and how each day of the month throughout the cycle of the seasons can be celebrated.

Contributors came from all over the world and so I have left spellings and measurements in the style each individual wrote them. For a book that seems like a magical cabinet of curiosities, to be opened and perused with delight at the variety within, it would have felt wrong to try to make all the entries homogenous. The internet is out there and it is easy to find equivalent measurements for cups, litres, inches or centimetres. Editing this book has been a delight and I have learnt a great deal from reading all the entries. I have also enjoyed writing for it myself and sharing my own perspective on English witchcraft and candle magic.

Although each entry is listed for a specific day, obviously there are differences in the times when seasonal activities are appropriate depending on your location or variations in weather from one year to the next. Use the book as a guide, but feel free to do the spells and other activities whenever you want or whenever feels right for where you live. If a plant or animal mentioned cannot be found in your part of the world, then research an equivalent or simply visualise it in your minds eye. I should add that most of the entries were written for the northern hemisphere. My only regret is that the book could not be big enough to give seasonally appropriate alternatives for the southern hemisphere as well. Perhaps there will be a future edition for the southern hemisphere too.

Every Day Magic A Pagan Book of Days is a perennial book, designed to be used this year, next year and for as long as you follow the Pagan path. With it you will never be short of inspiration for ways to honour nature, the ancient Gods and Goddesses, those who went before us and the spirits of the places we live in now. Dip into it occasionally, or read it every day. If you want to find out more about any of the activities, in the last chapter About the Contributors there are details of the authors and their other books, blogs and websites. This means you can use Every Day Magic A Pagan Book of Days as a starting-off point for further magical and spiritual exploration.

Lucya Starza

Often the coldest month of the year in the northern hemisphere, January can be bleak. The Moon in January is sometimes called Wolf Moon, Ice Moon, or Quiet Moon. It evokes the image of a wolf howling at the full Moon in a snow-covered landscape on an otherwise silent night. However, the days are noticeably starting to get longer, offering hope for the year ahead even as we brace ourselves against the chill outside or spend time indoors by a warming fire, kindling our hopes and dreams for the future.

In astrology, much of the month is ruled by Capricorn, which the Sun entered at the Winter Solstice. The symbol of a mountain goat with the tail of a fish is based on the Sumerian God of wisdom and waters, Enki. The fish-tailed goat is a versatile, tough creature that embodies the ability to push on with ambitions despite hostile environments. Despite its wise and watery origins, Capricorn is a materialistic sign and those born under it tend to associate material success with personal feelings of security. The Sun in Capricorn can lend power to spells for material goals, even if those goals will be hard to achieve. The Sun enters Aquarius on or around January 20, softening Capricorns materialism. Aquarians are still acquisitive, but not at any cost. The water carrier is the sign of thoughts and new ideas, further helping us to plan for the year ahead. Use this in magic to empower your New Years resolutions.

1. New Years Resolutions: Resolve to enrich your spirit each and every day in many and varied ways. Aim to watch the way the seasons change; meditate a little; whisper prayers; light candles for peace, hope, joy, love and good health; dance and sing; learn about the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient world and celebrate the forces of nature, the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and the stars. Breathe in love and breathe out love. Be open to inspiration. Be blessed.