Your Lunar Return: A Step-by-Step Guide

What is a Lunar Return Chart?

A Lunar Return Chart is a type of astrological chart used in the art of astrological prediction. It is drawn up for the exact moment the transiting Moon reaches the same degree that it occupied at the time of your birth.  For example if at the time of your birth, the moon was in 17 degrees Virgo then your lunar return will occur when the moon returns to 17 degrees Virgo again. This is a cycle that will repeat itself roughly once every 28 1/2 days. 

Location, Location, Location 

It is important to keep in mind that people don't always remain in the same place that they were born. Take myself for example. I was born in South Carolina but have resided in Washington state for the past 13 years. Therefore, when calculating your Lunar Return, you also have to keep in mind your present location or the location you plan to be at the time of your Lunar Return.   For instance, let us say that my Lunar Return will occur on May 8th and I planned to go on vacation to Myrtle Beach  that week. I look at my calendar and see that I actually will be in Myrtle Beach at the time of my Lunar Return --- so my lunar return chart will be calculated for that location. 

What Does a Lunar Return Chart Signify? 

The Lunar Return Chart will give an indication of your emotional outlook for the month and can point to events that may transpire or play themselves out over the course of the month in question. While some transits, such as the outer planets  may carry over from month to month the lunar return is thought to be valid for one month. 

Erecting the Chart(s) 

Please note that for the purpose of this blog entry, I am using the birth data of actor Chris Evans. First we must begin with the birth chart because the Lunar Return is always read against the backdrop of the birth, or natal chart.   Below, please find Chris natal chart. 

As you can see, his Sun Sign is Gemini, his Moon Sign is Scorpio and his Rising Sign is Scorpio.  Specifically, his Moon is in 12 degrees Scorpio. So his Lunar Return will occur each month when the moon return to 12 degrees Scorpio.  His next Lunar Return will occur on April 20th, 2019 at 4:56 am. Since Chris is an actor and his profession requires him to travel a great bit I have no idea where he will be on 4/20, so for the purpose of this blog entry I have set his Lunar Return to the city of his birth which is Boston MA. 

When combined on a bi-wheel the chart appears as below with the inner wheel being the birth chart and the outer wheel being the lunar return chart.  

Interpreting the Lunar Return: A Step by Step Guide 

The first thing I look at is the rising sign, or ascendant, in the Lunar Return Chart (LR). The Ascendant represents the mask you wear, how you are perceived by others, etc...despite your Sun Sign (the essence of who you are). 

As you can see from the above chart, Chris has Aries Rising in his LR.  We know that his Sun Sign is Gemini.  What this tells me is that whereas Chris is normally energetic, curious,  and vacillating (natal sun in Gemini) his energy this month will be more forceful, direct, and assertive (Aries rising). He may even use some of this focus and energy to start a new project (Aries rules beginnings).  

Because Chris is an actor who's profession requires him to change his appearance from time to time, he may even find himself working on a project that changes his appearance from his usual Gemini body type to that of something more Aries like.  Geminis are generally tall, strong, and energetic with a high forehead and long, straight nose. Aries men, however,  are generally more rugged with a prominent chin or mouth. They sometimes, but not always, have some type of mark such as a scar or mole on their face. 

The next thing I look at is what house does the Ascendant fall in the birth chart. Chris has Aries in the 6th house in his birth chart. This tells me that issues of work, health, and his daily routine will be major factors in his life this month. 

Next, we look at the chart ruler. The Chart Ruler is the planet that rules the Ascendant in any chart. Again, Chris has Aries rising in his LR which is ruled by Mars. Mars is in the 3rd House in his LR. This house rules communication, short journeys, and his near environment. 

At this point we can start to put together some of the information we have gathered thus far. For example, you might say something along the lines of the following:

"Your normally divided energy comes more into focus this month as you present yourself as more assertive, adventurous, and decisive.  You may stray from your usual routines and try things that are new and different. You may initiate a new project in your near environment which will require several short trips and more than your usual amount of communication with others such as trading more calls and emails, and taking more meetings than you normally do."

The next thing I look at are the angles. The angles are a term which refers to the Angular Houses in astrology. The Angular Houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses.  The Angular Houses are thought to be the most  important houses in astrology. 

• The first house represents your self, your ego, and outlook 
• The fourth house represents your private life. 
• The seventh house represents your relationships. 
• The tenth house represents your public life, reputation, etc... 

What I look at is what signs are in these angular houses and if they are occupied by any planets. 

In Chris's LR chart, the angles flow with the natural chart, so that he has Aries in the first house, Cancer in the fourth, Libra in the seventh and Capricorn in the tenth. He has Mercury and Chiron in the first house and Pluto and Saturn in the tenth house. He has the North Node in the 4th house, although I would not consider it when interpreting his LR, and he has no planets in his 7th House. 

A quick interpretation of his angles are as follows

• First House - Aries. The native comes across as forceful, assertive, adventurous, and eager. 
• Fourth House- Cancer. The native is very attached to his home and family. He needs roots and traditions from which he draws strength. 
• Seventh House- Libra. The native is open-minded yet careful and discriminating in who he chooses to enter into relationships of all kinds with.  He needs someone who is an equal and may have trouble finding someone who lives up the ideal he holds in his mind. 
• Tenth House- Capricorn.  The native is a hard worker who takes hi career, profession, and reputation very seriously.  

Any planets in these houses will be interpreted as being much more powerful than if they were in  the Succedent or Cadent houses. Their energy will carry more weight and their effects will be more powerfully felt. 

Then we move on to look at the individual placements of the Personal and Social Planets. The Personal Planets are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The Social Planets are Jupiter and Saturn.  The Interpersonal, or Generational Planets, are not considered in the Lunar Return because they move so slowly and would not change from month to month.  The Generational Planets would be considered in the Solar Return. 

• The Sun's placement will give an indication of your focus or direction for the month. Whatever house the sun occupies will shine brighter and greater than the other houses. 
• The Moon's placement provides the emotional lens through which you view the world and your environment. 
• Mercury's placement describes your mind and thought processes for the month.  Not only what you are thinking about but how you are thinking. 
• Venus's placement will give an indicate of your attachments. What are you attracted to and who or what is attracted to you. 
• Mar's placement will describe your motivation(s) for the month.  Where and how you your energy will be spent. 
• Jupiter's placement indicates your inspiration. The house that Jupiter occupies will indicate the area of life where you can grow and what inspires you to grow and be better. This is what will help you achieve your goals and aspirations. 
• Saturn's placement represents your obstacles.  Saturn's house will indicate any challenges in your path to be overcome.  This is the area of life that will require discipline on your part. 

Of course I would also take into consideration the essential dignity of each planet as well as if they are retrograde or not. For example on April 20th and through August of 2019, Jupiter will be in retrograde and this will color my interpretation of Jupiter in Taurus and the 2nd House in his Lunar Return Chart. 

From here I look at the aspects, or relationships, between the planets in the lunar return chart. I personally do not look at all the aspect but simply the closest hard aspect and the closest soft aspect . Hard aspects are the squares and oppositions. They bring challenges and difficulties from which we can grow, learn, and evolve.  Soft aspects are trines and sextiles and they make things flow more easily. Conjunctions are more neutral and are thought to blend and amplify the energies of the two planets concerned. 

Looking at the above LR, Chris's closest Soft Aspect is the Sun Trine Jupiter and his closest Hard Aspect is Mercury Square Jupiter.  So it would appear that his personality and charisma will shine through and help him this month but he may struggle with how he exchanges thoughts and ideas with others. Therefore, when dealing with others it is important that he does not trade on his looks, personality, or reputation (even though that is what is going to get his foot in the door) but he needs to be able to voice his ideas, opinions and thoughts in a clear and understandable manner as well as learn with the intent to listen and not to respond. 

Finally, I look at the aspects between the planets in the lunar return and the planets in the natal chart. Again, I only look at the closest hard aspect and the closest soft aspect. Since this is a Lunar Return, the Transit Moon will always conjunct the Natal Moon and so this is not an aspect which I take into consideration. 

Once we have completed our examination of the chart, we take all the information that we have gleaned from the chart and organize it in a clear, concise, and easy to understand report. This process is known as astrological synthesis.  

Carolina Dean 

Your Astrology Journal

Your Astrology Journal is, or will be, an invaluable tool for learning Astrology.  Not only will it serve to keep records of all your charts, it will also act as a guide as you record your charts, meditate on their placements, track your transits, and study the aspects between planets in your charts, contemplate your retrogrades and more! 

You can use whatever type of blank book, binder, or spiral bound notebook that you desire as your Astrology Journal.  When I started out, I used a blank book pasting my various charts in the pages of the journal and keeping notes about various aspects of my chart(s). However, I found that a blank book wasn't an ideal choice for me, even though I like using bound blank books for others types of journals that I keep.  

What I found that ultimately worked for me was a three ring binder.  I found that I could better arrange the information that I wanted to keep a record of in such a binder as well as move various pages around as needed.  It took a little trial and error, but using tab dividers I was able to come up with a system that really worked for me. 

My Astrology Journal is divided into 7 distinct sections. They are:

1. My Natal Chart- This section includes my birth chart and all my notes, observations, and interpretations of my birth chart. Sometimes I buy computer generated delineations, or astrological readings from professional astrologers and include them in this section for study and meditation.
2. Reference Material- This section includes articles and other astrology related material found online for reference and study. Notes I've taken while watching youtube videos, photocopies of certain pages from my collection of books for quick reference, handouts and PDFs found online, etc... I also keep a print out of the current year ephemeris for quick reference so I don't always have to refer to my big, bulky one hundred year ephemeris. 
3. Personal Notes- A collection of my personal keywords for planets, signs, houses; techniques for prediction, and other helpful directions I have learned or developed as well as astrological articles I have personally written (many of which can  be found in this blog) 
4. Past Charts- Old Solar Return, Lunar Returns, Progressions, Retrogrades, Venus Returns, Saturn Return, etc.. along with my personal notes and observations. 
5. Current Charts- Current Solar Return, Lunar Return, Progressions, Retrogrades (Venus, Mars, Jupiter), etc... along with my notes. Once these charts are no longer active they are moved into the past charts section.
6. Future Charts- At the end of the year, I printed all my future Solar Return, Progressions, Lunar Returns, Venus Return, various retrogrades and Major Transits for 2019, etc.... to be examined. Once these charts are activated they move into the "current charts" section. I make it a point to meditate on them and write out my notes before they "take affect".
7. Relationships- This section contains the charts of old boyfriends, lovers, my parents, friends etc... along with my notes for examination and study.

Obviously, as I collect charts the notebook will grow and become larger and more cumbersome. Some folks may be tempted to dispose of them, however, these charts will have a great deal of information that you will want to keep for future reference. At some point the Past Charts will have to be moved to a separate notebook.  When this point comes I will likely keep past charts up to a year in my main Astrology Journal and keep all my previous charts in a separate notebook(s).  

Tell me about your journal, what form does it take and how has it helped you in your study of Astrology?

Carolina Dean 

Jupiter Retrograde April 2019

Jupiter Retrograde 

4/10/19  10:01 AM Pacific 

Natural Chart / Whole Houses 

You may be familiar with the term retrograde and usually hear this term associated with Mercury as in Mercury Retrograde. It may surprise you, however, that Mercury isn't the only planet that goes retrograde. In fact, with the exception of the Sun and Moon, all the planets go retrograde at some point. When a planet goes retrograde, it means that --- from our perspective on earth --- the planet appears to reverse its course across the sky moving backwards through the cosmos. 

Jupiter goes retrograde about once a year and generally last anywhere from four to five months. The next Jupiter Retrograde will occur on 4/10/19 at 10:01 AM Pacific in 24 degrees Sagittarius. 

When a planet goes retrograde it changes the meaning of that planet in our charts.  Jupiter is known as the planet of Luck, Expansion, and Optimism.  When Jupiter goes retrograde this is a time when we should refrain from taking too many risks, and our optimism should be temepered with a little skepticism. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is..... 

Jupiter is said to rule Sagittarius so the effects of Jupiter Retrograde in Sagittarius is stronger than that of the other signs. With Jupiter in Sagittarius we can expect issues of foreign lands and people to come under scrutiny, as well as those issues surrounding philosophy, religion, and the law being discussed and debated in the microcosm of our daily lives and the macrocosm of the world at large. 

Obviously, however, Jupiter Retrograde will affect everyone differently depending on where transit Jupiter falls in your natal chart. 

• If Aries is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 9th house. 
• If Taurus is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 8th house. 
• If Gemini is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 7th house. 
• If Cancer is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 6th house. 
• If Leo is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 5th house. 
• If Virgo is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 4th house. 
• If Libra is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 3rd house. 
• If Scorpio is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 2nd house. 
• If Sagittarius is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 1st house. 
• If Capricorn is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 12th house. 
• If Aquarius is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your1th house. 
• If Pisces is your rising sign, Sagittarius is in your 10th house. 

For example with Jupiter Retrograde in the second house of wealth, money, and our personal value system this is a good time to review your relationship with money and the things that you value. You might consider new and different ways to make money or increase the value of your possessions in some way. You may also take this time to reevaluate your personal values and how they have or have not supported your goals in life --- especially those related to money and how you define success. 

Jupiter will station direct on 8/11/19 in 14 degrees Sagittarius. 

Where does Jupiter fall in your natal chart and how will Jupiter Retrograde affect you? 

Carolina Dean 

Review: The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need

In Review:

The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need

Joanna Martine Woolfolk

For me, this was the book that first sparked my interest in and love for astrology. I remember seeing it on the shelves of the Waldenbooks in Rock Hill, SC (the closest mall to my hometown). I had to drive 45 minutes one way to get there and I would spend hours in the stacks looking to satiate my interest in all things occult, including astrology, Wicca, and the tarot.

As soon as I got home, I asked my grandmother to pull out my birth certificate so that I can have my birth time and build an accurate natal, or birth chart for myself. I sat at the kitchen table with a pencil and paper on which I had drawn a blank astrological chart and plotting all my planets on the grid. I spent hours with my little hand-drawn chart pouring over this tome studying all of my placements and their aspects.

At some point I lost this book and astrology became a little too complicated for my level of understanding at the time and so discontinued my studies in favor of the mysteries of the tarot--- a system of divination for which I was much more gifted. Then, a few years later I would make a friend, Julie, who shared so me of my interest. To my surprise, she had a aged copy of The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need (pictured above) that she kept in an old trunk and which she gifted to me. Over the years I would study astrology up to a point, get frustrated and move on, only to come back around to it again. Today, with computers making astrology more accessible and the construction of astrological charts easier I have delved back into the study of astrology but The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need forms the foundation of much of my own knowledge and experience of Astrology on which I endeavor to build.


My Review

In print for nearly two decades, The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need truly stands up to its title. However, should you plan to make a career as an astrologer you will, of course, need further study. Beginning with the Sun signs and moving on through the remaining planets, as well as more obscure influences such as the Ascendant, Moon signs, Decanates and Cusps of each sign, the book is well thought out and the information presented in a logical and orderly manner In addition the author explains the steps necessary to erect a chart in simple terms.

Without including any un-necessary information Woolfolk includes everything that you need to get a decent idea of what each element in your chart means and provides an accurate method of putting all this information together in an easy to understand format. In addition, she describes a method of comparing one's chart to that of another, called Synastry, in order to determine their level of compatibility with one another.

Had the author stopped at this point, the book would still be an invaluable tool in and of its self; however Woolfolk has also included a plethora of miscellaneous information not found in other books on astrology including a detailed analysis of the amorous nature of each sign by gender, as well as advice on seducing an individual based on his or her Sun Sign. There's an entire chapter devoted to maintaining good health, with advice regarding a proper diet and a few words about each sign's erogenous zones.

For those who enjoy a little science to balance their magic, the book contains detailed astronomical information regarding each of the planets, as well as their mythological history and correspondences. In addition, the author has included the legend behind each of the signs of the zodiac, as well as a brief history of astrology and a comprehensive dictionary of terms. The charts in the back of the book which indicate in which sign each of the planets are in the zodiac through to the year 2025 also doubles as an almanac, an invaluable tool for Wiccans and Pagans who observe astrological hours in the timing of the spells and rituals.

Over all, The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need is a very good introduction to the topic of Astrology and contains all the basics needed to familiarize yourself with the principles of Astrology and get you started on erecting your own chart and understanding exactly what it means. That being said, should you decide to advance in your studies the book does not address the principles behind The Nodes of the Moon, The Part of Fortune, The Asteroids, or Retrogrades. However, it is an excellent reference for the casual reader and the serious student alike.


Carolina Dean


The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need (Amazon)
Joanna Martine Woolfolk (obituary)
Good Reads Author Page

Your Annual Wishing Moon

New Moon Chart 

4/5/19  1:50 AM 

Gemini Rising / Whole Chart 

What is the Wishing Moon?

Your annual wishing moon occurs when the new moon takes place in your natal 11th house. For example, today's new moon occurs in 15 degrees Aries. Therefore, if your rising sign is Gemini, then this New Moon is your annual wishing moon (see New Moon Chart above). 

You may be asking yourself why the 11th house and not some other house? The answer is simple, the 11th house in astrology is (among other things) associated with your hopes and dreams, which in and of themselves are tied to our wishes. The 11th house is naturally ruled by Uranus and corresponds to the future as well as people and groups that share common interests and goals. 

How to Use the Annual Wishing Moon 

Your wishing moon is a good time to perform any kind of  wish-craft, that is, any type of spell or ritual that centers around making a wish come true. Here are just a few examples of how you can harness the energy of your annual wishing moon to make your wishes come true. 

Since there are 13 new moons in any given year, on a piece of paper write down 13 goals that you wish to achieve or manifest in the following year. Dress the four corners and center of the paper with a condition oil. Since your wishes will presumably center around different areas of life such as love, sex, money, good health, happiness and prosperity using several different oils on your petition may be impractical. Instead, you may wish to use an all purpose type oil such as African Juju Oil, Attraction Oil, Crown of Success, Blessing Oil, or Good Luck  Oil.  If you are more astrologically inclined, you might want to dress the paper with Aquarius or Uranus Oils as they are both associated with the 11th house. 

Light the candle and some incense making your prayer or petition for all your wishes to come true. You might want to smoke your wish paper in the incense and say something along the lines of the following:

"This candle burning true and bright before me now represents my sincere hope and desire for these wishes to come to pass as quickly as possible and in a natural way. As it is written, so let it be done. In Jesus name. Amen."

Fold the paper towards yourself three times and place it under the candle holder. For added power you may wish to place a few quartz crystals near your candle to amplify your prayer and petition. Imagine your wishes have already materialized. When the candle is spent, remove the wish paper and press it in the Bible anywhere it says "and this shall come to pass". 

Each new moon, remove the paper and draw a line through any wish that has manifested or which no longer seems important. When your annual wishing moon comes around again, burn the old wish paper and replace it with a new one.

Carolina Dean 

New Moon in Aries

New Moon 

4/5/19  1:50 AM Pacific 

Natural Chart / Whole Houses 

The New Moon

A New Moon occurs when both the Sun and the Moon simultaneously occupy the same degree of the same sign in the zodiac. As you can see from the above chart, the Sun and Moon both occupy 15 degrees Aries at 1:50 am on 4/5/2019 making this a new moon. 
 

The Moon Represents What is Happening 

Occurring approximately once every 28 1/2 days, new moons denote the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. New Moons are a great time to initiate any kind of change or to begin attracting anything that is needed or wanted.   Due to the fact that the moon is associated with our emotions, this is often seen as a new emotional cycle. 

Some keywords associated with the moon include, but are not limited to, the following: emotions, feelings, family, change, instincts, reflection, imagination, subconscious, or nurturing.

Aries Describes How it is Happening 

The Astrological Sign in which the New Moon occurs can indicate how this emotional renewal may express itself. Some keywords associated with Aries include, but are not limited to, the following: assertive, strong, initiative, energy, impatient, headstrong, adventurous, fearless, leader, pioneer, eager, and enthusiastic. 

The New Moon in Aries

A good way to better understand the Moon in Aries is to put these keywords side by side and blend them together. For example

The Moon                        Aries 

childhood                         assertive

cycles                               strong 

emotions                          initiative 

feelings                            energy

habits                               impatient

change                             headstrong 

instincts                           adventurous 

passive                             fearless 

reflection                          leader

subconscious                    pioneer 

imagination                      eager 

nurturing                          enthusiastic 

When the Moon is in Aries people are generally more courageous, assertive, and imaginative.  They can be forceful and rely on themselves more than usual (perhaps too much).  However, they can be more argumentative as well and so butt heads with others if they are not able to keep their cool (Aries is a fire sign that rules the head so the term hot-headed applies here).  

The House is Where it Happens

The Astrological House in which the New Moon occurs in your Natal Chart gives an indication of the area of life activated by the New Moon and where you can expect to see the energy of the New Moon in Aries to play out. Since the April New Moon occurs in 15 degrees Aries, you would look at your Natal, or Birth Chart to ascertain in what House 15 degrees Aries occurs.  

If Aries if also your natal 11th house, this would be your annual wishing moon. I'll write about this more in a separate blog post. 

The Twelve Houses of Life 

1. The self, ego, appearance, initiative, leadership, fresh starts and new beginnings. 
2. Money and material matters.  Your physical environment, income, money, and your sense of self-esteem. 
3. Communication in all its forms (thinking, writing, speaking, etc... ) as well as siblings, local travel, teachers and community events. 
4. Home, privacy, your basic sense of security, your mother, children, and your own ability to nurture others.
5. Creative expression, drama, attention, love, and romance. 
6. Health and service to others. Your routine, diet, exercise and helpfulness to others. 
7. Marriage, partnerships, and relationships of all kinds.  Contracts, business deals, etc... 
8. Birth, death, sex, other people's money and property. 
9. Expansion, the higher mind, foreign matters (languages, cultures, travel) luck, adventure, risk, philosophy, ethics and morals. 
10. The public, fame, honors, reputation, awards, boundaries, rules, discipline, authority, the father. 
11. Groups of people such as friends and associations, networking, social justice.  Originality, sudden unexpected events, invention, surprises, and all things futuristic.
12. Endings. Completion, tying up loose ends, old age, karma, making amends, and the afterlife. Imagination, creativity, poetry, and the subconscious mind. 

A Practical Example 

New Moon in Aries and the 6th House 

With the Moon (I feel) in Aries (assertive) and the 6th House (health and work) ruled by Virgo (I analyze), you may be feeling more critical at this time and see problems everywhere. Problems that need to be corrected. You want to get more organized in your work, streamline your processes, and make your self as efficient as possible. If you are not able to make these changes at work, this may also be a good time to look for a new job that is more in harmony with the way you like to work. This is also a good time to change or refine your diet or exercise routine.

A Deeper Look 

You can get a good idea of how the New Moon in Aries will affect you with this simple technique. However, if you wish to go deeper, then, in addition to the Moon Sign and Natal House you may also wish to look at any aspects the New Moon is making to other planets at the time of the New Moon as well as any aspects the New Moon is making to your natal placements.  

Nonetheless, this is another subject entirely and will be the addressed in a future blog post. It is important to remember though that the aspects the New Moon make to the other planets at the time of the New Moon will affect everyone, while the aspects the New Moon is making to your Natal placements will apply only to you. 

Where is 15 degrees Aries in your chart? How will the New Moon in Aries manifest for you? 

Carolina Dean 

The Astrology of Honey Jars

What is a Honey Jar 

Honey Jars are a type of container-spell which uses sweeteners such as honey, syrup, molasses, etc… in conjunction with the burning of a series of fixed-candles for the purpose of compelling an individual to favor your petition in business, love, or court-cases. However, honey-jars aren't limited to these either. They may be used on your doctor to get him to genuinely care about your and your health. they may be used on your child's teacher so that she or he will like the child and really want him or her to be successful. 

How Are Honey Jars Made?

A typical honey jar is created using a small glass container, such as a baby-food jar, that has a metal lid and filling it with honey. Depending on your specific intent as well as what herbs, curios, and/or personal concerns you have available, additional items may or may not be placed inside the honey. At the very least, a written petition should be placed inside the honey. The jar is then sealed and a prepared candle is affixed to the top of the lid.

The candle is lit as one’s prayer or petition is made and then allowed to burn itself out. The following day, and each successive day for a total of seven days, a new fixed candle is burned on the honey-jar to heat up the situation and get movement on your issue. After the first seven days, a new fixed candle is burned three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Theoretically, honey-jars work on various principles including sympathetic magic and correspondences.

Sympathetic magic is a concept which states that “invisible bonds connect all things.”  It can be divided into two distinct subcategories. They are:

• Homeopathic Magic holds that “like attracts like.” While making the petition for a honey jar, the practitioner will often ask that the individual it is intended to affect will become as sweet to the practitioner as the honey is to the taste.

• Contagious Magic holds that “things once in contact with one another continue to exert an influence on one another after they have been separated.” When available, the personal-concerns of the individual the honey jar is to affect will be included in the jar so that it will have a more powerful affect on him or her. Examples of personal concerns include: blood, hair, semen, photograph, handwriting, etc….

Correspondences refer to the relationships that can be used for magickal workings. They make use of how things relate to one another. It is helpful to think of correspondences as a list of possible ingredients from which you can make selections. Correspondences are present in the form of the herbs and or curios, if any, that are included in the honey jar as well as the color of the candle chosen and the type of condition oil with which it is anointed.

The term correspondences can also refer one’s choice of time in which to work the spell. Choices include the Moon Phase, Moon’s Sign, Day of the Week, and Hour of the Day. Most honey jars are worked for positive purposes, therefore they will often be begun while the moon is Waxing, or growing in size. The reasoning for burning the candle on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays has to do with the planetary correspondences attributed to those days of the week as well as their associations. 

• Monday is ruled by the Moon which is concerned with our emotions
• Wednesday is ruled by Mercury which rules communication and the exchange of information and ideas. 
• Friday is ruled by Venus which rules over friendship and love

As most honey jars are worked for love and friendship, the burning of the candles on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays is done to communicate the emotion of love and friendship to the individual and have those feelings returned in the form of having one’s petition granted.

When to Burn Your Candle 

Anyone who has studied planetary hours knows that the first hour of the day (which can last more or less than sixty minutes, depending on the time of the year) corresponds to the planet that rules that day. So the time for Sunrise on Monday would be ruled by the Moon; on Wednesday by Mercury; and Friday by Venus. Therefore, if at all possible, I would recommend burning your candle at sunrise to draw in the energy of both the Planetary Day and the Planetary Hour.  

As you can see, honey-jars are a powerful tool to sway others to your cause and win favors in business, love, and other matters. 

Carolina Dean 

The Astrology of April 2019

The Astrology of April 2019 

All Times Pacific 

• 4/05/19   New Moon in Aries at 1:50 AM 
• 4/10/19   Jupiter Retrograde in Sagittarius at 10:01 AM 
• 4/12/19   Waxing Moon in Cancer at 12:06 PM 
• 4/17/19   Mercury enters Aries at 2:01 AM
• 4/19/19   Full Moon in Libra at 4:12 AM 
• 4/20/19   Sun enters Taurus at 1:55 AM
• 4/20/19   Venus enters Aries at 9:11 AM 
• 4/24/19   Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn at 11:48 am 
• 4/26/19   Waning Moon in Aquarius at 2:27 AM 
• 4/29/19   Saturn Retrograde in Capricorn at 5:54 PM 

Best Days April 2019 

The Best Days was a feature in many old almanacs and gave the optimal times for performing such tasks as weaning a baby, pulling teeth, or planting by the signs. Here I have taken this concept and applied it to the folk magic tradition of Hoodoo and given the best days for various magical endeavors. They are: 

• Love & Romance     7-14, 17, 18, 26, 27  
• Crown of Success     6-9, 15, 16, 23-27    
• Sex & Sexuality       13, 14, 17-20
• Cleansing                  6, 10-12, 15, 16
• Hotfooting                 1-5, 19, 20, 28-30 
• Unblocking               3-5, 21, 22

Carolina Dean