Kate Braun : Winter Solstice Falls on Saturn's Day

Saturnalia by Ernesto Biondi, 1909.

Io Saturnalia!
Winter Solstice 2013

This seasonal celebration takes from many traditions, including the Roman Saturnalia, Druid customs, the German 'Yule,' and the birth of Jesus; and Queen Victoria popularized the lighted Christmas tree.

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / December 17, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013, marks Yule, the Winter Solstice, also the date observed as Saturnalia by the ancient Romans. Fittingly, this year’s Yule falls on a Saturday, Saturn’s Day.

For the Romans, Saturnalia was a time to remember and celebrate Rome’s “Golden Age," when Saturn ruled and life was perfect: the earth had no winter, food was abundant, there was no war, all living things on the planet coexisted peacefully.

In remembrance of this time, Romans gave each other gifts, opened their doors and shared hospitality, and partied like there would be no tomorrow! Many of the elements of Saturnalia have been absorbed into our Yule celebrations. Giving gifts and hosting parties are the most obvious ones.

There were other Sun-Gods in the Long Ago, most notably Mithras. His birth was celebrated on December 25 and involved much feasting and partying. In the 5th century, Church leaders moved the date of Jesus’ birth to December 25 in order to take advantage of the already existing celebrating and to shift the focus away from what they considered paganism.

Druid customs bring us the hanging of mistletoe over doorways. Give a kiss of peace on entering a home and it conveys the promise to not perpetrate mayhem or other negative mischief while inside.

Germanic influence brings us the Yule log and the decorating of trees. We can thank Queen Victoria for making a lighted Christmas tree popular; it was a custom introduced into England by Prince Albert. Queen Victoria found the custom delightful, and if it was good enough for the queen it was good enough for all her subjects!

The word “Yule” comes from a Germanic word meaning “wheel” and signifies the shifting of Planet Earth from the dark time to the lighter time when Lord Sun once again begins his ascendency. It is interesting to note that this year Lady Moon is in Leo, a Fire sign, on the day that marks the beginning of Lord Sun’s new life.

Use the colors red (for fire and Lord Sun’s new energy), green (for the new life soon to be seen in the emerging green shoots of plants), and white (for the snow that will melt away) in your decorating. Use evergreen boughs to symbolize the rebirth of life.

Serve your guests roast meat (it need not be a whole boar’s head), nuts, spiced cakes, and sweets as well as wassail (egg nog may easily replace a steaming wassail bowl) or other celebratory libations.

Sing carols to welcome the new life of Lord Sun: "Yonder Come Day," "Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming," "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," "Pat-a-Pan," "White Christmas," "Angels We Have Heard on High"; any song that lifts your spirits. Don’t fret overmuch about how well you sing.

Sing in new life, brighter days, shorter nights, new beginnings, love, peace, goodwill towards all.

[Kate Braun was a contributor to the original Rag. Her website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : The First Dark Moon of Autumn

Moonless autumn night on Whidbey Island in Washington. Photo from rprtphoto.

Moon Musings:
Dark Moon
(October 4, 5, or 6, 2013)

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / October 2, 2013

"North, South, East, West,
help me to do my best"

A Dark Moon may be honored on each day on either side of the New Moon as well as on the day of the New Moon.

In October, the New Moon occurs at 7:35 p.m. CDT on Friday, October 5, so you may make your celebration on either October 4, 5, or 6. As the moon is not visible during a Dark Moon period, 10 a.m. is the best time of day to petition the Dark Moon, and due to normal work schedules this indicates that perhaps the better day would be Saturday, October 5, or Sunday, October 6, but whichever day is best for you is the day you should choose.

This is the first Dark Moon of Autumn, which can make planning activities more difficult as any confusion, fears, or regrets from the past are likely to arise. It is best to begin with a balancing ritual, then progress to rituals designed to let the past truly be the past. One way to do this is to invite all the directions to work with you: North, South, East, West, Above, Below, Behind, and Before. The words you use should be simple, direct, and to the point. Here is a suggestion:

North, South, East, West, help me to do my best;
Above me, the Idea; Below me, my Support;
The past is Behind; my goal is Before.

Once this is done, then you can start moving the energy forward. But don’t set specific goals at this time; concentrate instead on releasing the past. November will be a better month to use for specifics.

Here is a simple way to put the past firmly behind you: Do a little weeding in your yard. As you pull up each unwanted plant, being sure to remove as much of the root as possible, say to it, “you are no more present here." When you have pulled up several weeds in this manner, bundle them together using either fiber (garden twine, for example) or a nuisance plant such as bindweed.

Once your weed-bundle is made, write on a piece of paper the things you are releasing. Use the color of ink appropriate for the day you have chosen (blue for Thursday, green for Friday, black for Saturday) and select items to release that are in accord with the planet ruling each day.

If you choose to honor the Dark Moon on Thursday, October 4, this is Thor’s day and Jupiter rules. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, so you may easily focus on the positive resolution of financial or spiritual matters. Wear the color Blue; be sure to have water in a bowl or glass near you. Holding the bundle in your hand, dip it into the water, repeat your chant 4 times, then bury the bundle in a part of the yard that is not regularly watered.

If Friday, October 5, is a better day for you, remember that it is Frigga’s day and Venus rules, so focusing on releasing unwanted or unneeded love and attraction will be more successul. Wear the color green, be outside and barefooted so you can feel the Earth beneath your feet, and have some water in a bowl or glass nearby. Drizzle some earth and then some water over your bundle, repeat your chant seven times, then bury it in a part of the yard that is not regularly watered.

If Saturday, October 6, is the best day for you to honor the Dark Moon, wear black, be outside and barefoot so that you can feel the earth beneath your feet, and focus on releasing resistance to change in your life. Drizzle some Earth on your bundle and repeat your chant 3 times, then bury your bundle in a part of the yard that is not regularly watered.

A suggested chant for this Dark Moon:

Past is past, gone is gone;
Lay it to rest, move along;
My path is cleared of old debris,
Forward-looking is the key.

When your magicking is concluded and the bundle is buried, invoke all directions once again and thank them for supporting your intentions. Here is a suggestion of what to say:

North, South, East, West,
Thank you for helping me to do my best;
My idea floats Above, my support lies Below,
Past is truly past, now my future can grow.

[Kate Braun was a contributor to the original Rag. Her website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : During Fall Equinox Give Thanks for Earth's Bounty

Honor Mother Earth on Fall Equinox. Image from Seeds of Good Fortune.

Fall Equinox:
A time to seek balance in all things

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / September 16, 2013

“Come, ye thankful people come
Raise the song of harvest home...”

Sunday, September 22, 2013 is the Fall Equinox, aka Mabon, Harvest Home, Second Harvest, or Cornucopia. Hours of day and night are equal on this day. As you concentrate on rituals for protection, prosperity, security, self-confidence, and harmony, seek balance in all things.

Use the colors red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, deep gold, and violet in your decorations and dress. Select decorations from an assortment of gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, apples, pomegranates, ivy, dried seeds, horns of plenty, grapes, autumn leaves, scales or balance beams, and textured fabrics such as velvet, velour, and corduroy.

Serve your guests a buffet that can include breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, carrot soup, blackberries, nuts, and cider as well as red meat or fowl. Honor all Goddess-as-Matron deities such as Cerridwyn, the Celtic water-oriented Goddess of Autumn whose symbol is the cauldron; her fruit is the apple and all nuts and seeds are sacred to her.

Traditionally, quilts were started on this date, but any project that would occupy your winter evenings could be begun now. You may also make a corn dolly or other poppet, charge it with the qualities and goals you are working on, and bury in the yard or garden as a seed that will see fruition as you achieve the goal.

To make a corn dolly: using about three fresh corn husks, bend them in half and use a strip of corn husk to tie off a small bit at the bend to form the dolly’s head; decide where the waist should be, twist the corn husks at this point and tie them with another corn husk strip. Fluff out the skirt and your corn dolly is finished. Sprinkle her with a few drops of wine and tell her the qualities and goals you choose to work on over the winter. Write this down for future reference.

Then bury her in your garden or back yard or under a tree, as you would plant a seed you want to grow vigorously. Plan to visit the site periodically; use it during the Dark Time to meditate on what you have sown. When celebrating the Spring Equinox, look at what your goals were and see what strides you have made towards achieving them.

This is a festival where you should give thanks for: Mother Earth’s bounty and the feast being enjoyed; friends and family; specific goodnesses in your life (name them); professional success as well as the basics of food, clothing, and shelter. When giving thanks, go around the table Sun-wise, starting with you, the host/ess, and moving to your left around the table.

When you give thanks for the bounty of the Earth, you are maintaining your connection to Spirit in a most elemental way. Without good water, good earth, good air, and healthy bees, there would be no crops to celebrate. Indeed, without these things there would be no people to create such a celebration. By honoring Mother Earth seasonally, we recognize not only our spirituality but also our place in the greater scheme of things.

Kate Braun will be participating in a Spiritual Life Productions Metaphysical Fair on Saturday and Sunday, September 21- 22, 2013, at the Marchesa Hall and Theater, 6406 N. I-35, Suite 3100, Austin, Texas. Saturday hours: 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Sunday hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Kate will also be answering questions on Tarot, Sunday at 1 p.m. as part of the fair’s lecture series.

[Kate Braun was a contributor to the original Rag. Her website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Third Quarter Moon Is Time to Banish Negative Energies

Third quarter moon. Image from Leaders in Science.

Moon Musings: 
Third Quarter Moon 
(August 24-26, 2013)

This is a time to banish negative energies, to rid yourself of bad habits, bad jobs, bad relationships, bad choices.

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / August 21, 2013

The third quarter moon is a time to banish negative energies; a time to rid yourself of bad habits, bad jobs, bad relationships, bad choices. This is not a good time to attempt to manifest newness, whether it involve romance or finance, but it is an excellent time to manifest energies to help you manage stress, maintain a spiritual protection zone, and to continue the progress of projects begun at the new moon. You may call upon Umbrea or any Crone Goddess to help advance your cause.

It is best to determine in advance how you decide to orient your ritualing. It is not wise to attempt both banishing and manifesting intentions, as their oppositeness may cause them to cancel each other out.

If your focus is on banishing negative energies, it is best to plan your ritualing for Saturday, August 24, or Sunday, August 25. If your focus is more on the continuing advance of projects already begun, the best days are Saturday, August 24, or Sunday, August 25, or Monday, August 26.

If you choose to banish negative energies on Saturday, August 24, the ruling planet is Saturn and you should use the color black, try to be outdoors and barefoot so the soles of your feet connect with the earth, repeat your chant three times. This day is good to use to focus on rituals for self-discipline. Stick to the point and don’t let yourself become distracted.

If Sunday, August 25, is a better day for banishing your unwanteds, Lord Sun governs your intentions, the color yellow should be used, there should be fire flaming in your ritualing area, and your chant should be repeated six times. Center your focus on money or financial matters, health concerns, and friendship issues. In particular, ask for clarity.

A suggested chant for releasing:

I let go I let go as I grow, as I grow
direction and choice is mine to make
I choose the best for my soul’s sake.

If you prefer to concentrate on the completion of projects already begun, Monday, August 26, is the better day for this work. Lady Moon rules the day and will assist you in your rituals for inspiration, change, self-inspiration, and increased psychic ability. These will likely give you insights about how to best bring your unfinished projects to fruition. Use the color or metal silver, make sure to have water present in a goblet or bowl or fountain, and repeat your chant nine times.

A suggested chant for manifesting:

Desiring only good I call blessings to me;
in honor and joy so shall it be.

Before you put away your tools and decorations, I recommend you take a moment to reflect on the work you have done this day. Then you may find it helpful and balancing to recite:

May I be at peace;
May love live in my heart;
May I awaken to the light of my own true nature;
May I be open to the positive changes begun today;
May the love within me flow to all living beings.

[Kate Braun was a contributor to the original Rag. Her website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Lammas is the Fire Festival

Honoring the First Harvest. Image from Asiya.

Honor the harvest:
Lammas is the Fire Festival

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / July 24, 2013

“Lord of the Harvest place your fire in me…”

Lammas, a Fire Festival also called First Harvest, Harvest Home, and Lughnasadh, may be celebrated on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, Thursday, August 1, 2013, or Friday, August 2, 2013. If at all possible, celebrate outdoors and have a fire burning.

You may use candles, or a cauldron, chiminea, barbeque pit, or grill. As long as it’s an open flame it will serve the purpose nicely. If you celebrate indoors, I recommend you include a cauldron in your table decorations and have charcoal tablets handy to ignite when your meal is concluded.

Decorations may include sickles, scythes, corn dollies, sun-wheels, bread, and fresh fruits and veggies. Use small brightly-colored notebooks and pens as placecards on your table. Your choice of colors may include red, gold, orange,yellow, bronze, citrine, gray, and green.

A pot-luck feast is most appropriate for this festival, as sharing food with others is a way to manifest prosperity in all its forms. Encourage your guests to bring whole-grain breads, locally-grown produce, summer squash, berry pies and cobblers, cornbread shaped like little ears of corn, ale, and fruit wine, and all you will need to prepare is roast lamb.

This celebration honors the harvest, honors Lord Sun, honors all grain goddesses such as Demeter and Freya. Begin your meal by asking each guest to break off a bit of bread and present it to his neighbor while saying “May you never go hungry” or “May food be always on your table” or a similar sentiment.

As your meal progresses, encourage your guests to tell or retell myths of grain goddesses, family stories about past harvest celebrations, memories of celebrating harvests. Keep the focus on the bounty of Mother Earth, the enjoyment of eating locally-grown foods, the delight in sharing food and companionship with friends. Make any toasts that seem appropriate, too.

At the conclusion of your feast ask your guests to use their notebooks and pens to write or draw symbols of whatever it is they regret from the previous 12 months. Burn these regrets in the ceremonial fire or on the charcoal tablets you ignite in your cauldron; as the smoke rises, the regrets are dissipated into the air, leaving only wisdom behind and a clear path ahead.

Any leftovers should be shared among your guests, making sure that no one takes home any of the food that person brought. If there are more leftovers than guests to take them home, it is strongly recommended to give those leftovers to the needy or the homeless.

It is considered taboo to keep your own uneaten contribution to the festivities. By sharing we generate energies that promote continuing prosperity.

[Kate Braun wrote for the original Rag Her website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com and she can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Masculine Energies Dominant at First Quarter Moon

First quarter moon at dusk. Photo by A.K.Entingh / AccuWeather.com.

Moon Musings:
First Quarter Moon
(July 9–11, 2013)

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / July 9, 2013

“Grow, grow, within and without; moving forward is what I’m about; strength is mine, honor is mine, success is mine, all will be fine.”

First quarter moons are times to start projects, both those you expect to finish within a month and those that will take longer. The focus should be on growth, be it of income, savings, information, knowledge, or whatever you have growing in your garden. If you are still planting things in the garden, this is the time to plant above-ground crops.

While preparing your magickal site, nibble on spicy foods such as tamales and nachos; they will help accelerate your energies. Ripe pears and a good blue cheese also make a delicious and nourishing snack. Drinking tea, fruit punch, and water is recommended, but don’t let yourself become so heavy with food to digest that you lose your spiritual focus.

If you choose to celebrate on Tuesday, July 9, Mars rules the day and will be helpful with developing courage and protecting property. Use the color red, incorporate the element Fire, and repeat your chant five times. You may also invoke Thor’s help. The day is named for him.

If Wednesday, July 10, is your preferred day to celebrate, Mercury is the planet to keep in mind while making your preparations. Use the color yellow and make sure you feel air moving across your body as you repeat your chant eight times. This will be easy if you are outdoors. If you stay inside, turn on a fan. This is a day to focus on career matters most of all. It is also Odin’s day, so you may invoke him or any deity associated with paternal leadership to assist you.

If Thursday, July 11, is when you opt to celebrate, the ruling planet is Jupiter, the planet of expansion. Listening to energizing music with a bouncy beat as you create your site will help keep positivity around you. Make magick regarding money and legal matters. Use the color blue, the element Water, and repeat your chant four times.

Keep your chant simple and to-the-point. You create whatever words most accurately indicate your intentions. Here is a suggestion: “Grow, grow, within and without; moving forward is what I’m about; strength is mine, honor is mine, success is mine, all will be fine.”

Notice that whatever day you pick for your celebrations, masculine energies will be dominant. Call on them to help get your projects off to a good start. Rev the engines, so to speak, and hit the ground running. When momentum is well-built, then you can relax and coast.

Before you put away your tools and decorations, I recommend you take a moment to reflect on what you have just manifested. Hold the image of your finished projects in your mind. Breathe deeply. Feel the sense of accomplishment that is sure to come. Then you may find it helpful and balancing to recite:

May I be at peace;
May love live in my heart;
May I awaken to the light of my own true nature;
May I be open to the positive changes begun today;
May the love within me flow to all living beings.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Beltane is a Time of Great Magick

May Pole. Image from deviantART.

A time of Great Magick:
Celebrate Beltane on April 30 or May 1

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / April 23, 2013

“All things ripen and grow... Abundance in Eternal Flow/ As one the Lord and Lady...”

Either Tuesday, April 30, or Wednesday, May 1, is a good time to celebrate Beltane, also known as Roodmas, Walpurgisnacht, and May Eve. This is a time of Great Magick, second only to Samhain in power.

The powers of elves and fairies are growing and will reach their peak at Summer Solstice, so be nice to them! One way to do this is to decorate a living tree or bush with bells and ribbons. When these elementals are happy, they will protect your outdoor spaces.

All colors are acceptable to use in your decorations, but be sure to use white, dark green, and red. This is a Fire Festival, a Wedding Feast honoring the union of God and Goddess, a time to take action on the activities and projects planned at the Vernal Equinox. As it is the last of the three springtime fertility festivals, plan to generate energy centered on growth of all kinds: growth in spiritual awareness, growth in the garden, growth in your bank accounts.

Serve your guests dairy foods, sweets of all kinds, red fruits, green salads, and cereals. A menu incorporating these elements would be a buffet of: an assortment of breads, crackers, and cheeses; apple slices; strawberries and yogurt; salad of lettuces, baby spinach, sprouts, and parsley; honey-vinaigrette salad dressing; ice cream and oatmeal cookies; red velvet cake; sweet muffins; sangria; mint-hibiscus tea.

May Pole: Life emerging.

Your decorations should include braiding of some sort. May Poles are a traditional sight at Beltane, the red and white streamers a manifestation of the life emerging in the Planet Earth. A small pole with red and white ribbon woven around it would make an appropriate centerpiece. If your hair is long enough, braid it. The intertwining represents the union of God and Goddess.

You could also provide the materials for you and your guests to each make a May Basket: small woven baskets, greenery (real or artificial) to fill the baskets, flowers and sprigs of herbs (real or artificial) to add to the greenery, red and white ribbons to make bows for the finished basket.

When choosing flowers to use in the May Baskets, keep in mind that roses can represent spirituality as well as the goddess, red carnations will attract fairies who enjoy healing animals, clover is wildly attractive to fairies, lobelia helps attract winged fairies, heliotrope is enjoyed by fire elementals, morning glory repels unwanted night fairies, and rosemary protects from baneful fairies. But do not use mistletoe, as it can attract unpleasant tree fairies and be aware that fairies tend to not like the smell of dill.

Another activity associated with Beltane is to make a joyful noise. Encourage your guests to bring wind instruments and use them at some point in your festivities. Trumpets, recorders, whistles, flutes, and ocarinas fit the category, as do many other breath-powered instruments. Be creative.

Above all, make it a joyful and joyous event. This is a time to celebrate life, love, and vitality!

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Waxing Crescent Moon Is Time to Clarify Your Focus

Waxing crescent moon. Image from Missouri Skies / EarthSky.

Moon Musings:
Waxing Crescent Moon
(April 12-14, 2013)

As Lady Moon progresses to fullness, your goals should also progress to completion.

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / April 8, 2013

The waxing moon is a time to promote growth, to focus on increasing whatever it is that you would like to see increase in your life, to clarify focus and set short-term goals to accomplish in this moon-cycle, to begin new projects. For gardeners, it is time to plant or transplant above-ground crops. You could easily incorporate planting seeds or transplanting young plants into their permanent location into your celebrations as it is best to begin your activities at sundown.

You may honor any virgin-goddess deities at this time. As Lady Moon progresses to fullness, your goals should also progress to completion, even as the seeds planted in this moon-phase germinate and send their stems up through the soil.

April 12 and 13, Lady Moon is in Taurus. Taurus, a fixed Earth sign, has strong influence on home and the home environment. Should you choose to honor the Waxing Crescent Moon on either of these days, your actions of intention should focus on good health, the state of your home, finances (stocks and real estate as well as savings accounts and IRAs), and a general sense of security.

If you choose to celebrate the Waxing Crescent Moon on Friday, April 12, use the color green, the elements earth and water, and repeat your chant seven times. Remember that in addition to love, Venus, who oversees Fridays, also manages all household matters, including finances and savings account balances.

April 13, Saturday, is Saturn’s day. If this is a better day for your celebration, use the color black and repeat your chants three times. Keep in mind that Saturn is currently retrograde, not going direct until July 7, 2013.

When planets retrograde, they appear to be moving backwards across the sky and the energy they promote is opposite of what it usually is. Saturn, one of the big outer planets, is fond of boundaries, organization, and structure. Normally cautious, when he retrogrades we find ourselves facing blockages and difficulties that can lead us to inaction rather than progress, no matter how slow that progress might be. For this reason it will be wise to prepare carefully and thoroughly if Saturday, April 13, is the best day for you to honor the Waxing Crescent Moon.

April 14, Sunday, Lady Moon is in Gemini. Gemini is a mutable Air sign. This day is best used to focus on matters involving communication, writing, studies, relatives, and methods to better influence others. On Sundays, Lord Sun’s influence is strong. Use the color yellow, be sure to light some candles to bring in the Fire element, and repeat your chant 6 times.

Chants or incantations can be as short or as lengthy as you choose. I recommend thinking in advance of what your intention is and frame your chant or incantation with that intention firmly in mind. To say “I am safe, my home is secure, my savings are increasing, my future is bright” is only one example.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Vernal Equinox Combines Customs from Many Cultures

"Eoster" was an Anglo-Saxon maiden goddess of the dawn. Image from Vita Marie Lovett.

Vernal Equinox:
A renewal of the land's fertility

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / March 18, 2013

“Green, green, it’s green they say, on the far side of the hill...”

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 is the Vernal or Spring Equinox, which may also be called Ostara or Lady Day. Lady Moon is in her 2nd quarter in Cancer; Lord Sun is entering Aries. The blend of Water and Fire can be volatile, producing lots of steam; it can also be gentle, resulting in the balance of energies necessary to properly boil an egg.

The name “Ostara” comes from “Eoster," an Anglo-Saxon maiden goddess of the dawn. Many cultures have contributed to the customs associated with the Vernal Equinox. In the Long-Ago it was believed that the hare was a hermaphrodite and could reproduce without loss of virginity. This belief led to associating hares with maiden goddesses such as Diana.

In the Pennsylvania Dutch area of the United States in the 18th century, German tradition was added with the tale of the “Osterhase” (“hase” means “hare”) who brings good children gifts at Easter, putting the gifts in the “nests” made in caps and bonnets; is it so surprising that today we mention the Easter Bunny with his basket of treats? You may honor the maiden goddess of your choice.

This celebration is centered on balance: balancing a raw egg on its larger end; creating a menu to include legumes, dairy, and grains for balanced protein; remembering the past as we move into the future. Traditionally, the Vernal Equinox was the day on which to begin planting an herb garden; with global warming affecting us as it is, this may no longer be the case. Consider the weather in your area and make your gardening plans accordingly.

All pastels are appropriate colors for this day, but be sure to include pink, to represent fire; green, to represent water; and yellow, to represent Lord Sun as he continues to grow in strength.

Decorate with living plants, equal-armed crosses, representations of rabbits and eggs.

A suggested menu: salad of sprouts and leafy greens such as spinach and lettuces garnished with slices of hard-boiled eggs, crumbled blue cheese, toasted pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds, and toasted pine nuts. Ham-and-cheese quiche. Hot cross buns. Chocolate. (The representations of rabbits and hares in chocolate reflects the lore that Eoster enjoyed sweets.)

At the Vernal Equinox we celebrate the renewal of the land’s fertility. One custom to ensure fertility in the garden is to “plant” (i.e. bury) an egg, raw or boiled or dyed or not, in the east corner of the garden. This is an activity that could be easily incorporated into your festivities with you and your guests singing or chanting as the hole is dug and the egg planted.

A suggested chant: “Grow, grow, my garden grow, this is just the start; sun and rain and hands and hoe, each will do their part.” Or create a chant of your own.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Welcome the Light on Candlemas

Image from The Mystical Kingdom.
Candlemas 2013:
A season of renewal

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / January 29, 2013

“Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life...”

Saturday, February 2, 2013, is Candlemas, aka Imbolc, Feast of Lights, Brigid’s Day. Lady Moon is in her 3rd quarter in Scorpio.

Waning moons are times to release and let go of unwanted or unnecessary things. Candlemas is a season of renewal. It is good to use this time to release winter’s gloom and welcome the light. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using light.

Candles, lanterns, flashlights, mirrors, all will serve the purpose: polish all shiny surfaces, window panes, mirrors, tile floors and countertops. Place candles on or in front of mirrors; this will increase the available light. Symbolically, we are encouraging Lord Sun’s continuing growth; symbolically we are assisting in our planet’s rebirth.

If you hang a silk scarf in an open window and let the breeze blow through it, this charges it with positive energy. Then wear the scarf for part of your attire. If it is white, yellow, pink, light green, or light blue, or has any of those colors in its print, it will bring more appropriate energy into your festivities. Use these colors in your decorations as well.

Serve your guests spicy dishes such as curries and chilis, foods which invoke warmth. Brigid is the patron saint of Candlemas. She is the patroness of poets and artists, blacksmiths and midwives. Shepherds and cattle herders honor her. She is a fire/sun goddess. Imbolc, another name for this festival, refers to new-born lambs suckling their dams. This is why milk dishes such as yogurt, quiche, and custards should also be featured in your menu.

At sundown, process through the house in a sunwise (clockwise) manner, sending light into all drawers, closets, corners, cabinets, under furniture, etc. You may invite your guests to join you in this activity. You may also bless seeds that will be planted but do not cut or pick plants today. All your activities should be pro-growth.

If you have a fireplace, be sure to put out and re-light your hearth fire. This represents the reemergence of Lord Sun from his wintry hibernation, symbolizes the rebirth of light and warmth, and stimulates generative energies within your home.

A rhyme associated with this date is:

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight;
If on Candlemas Day be shower and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.

If the rhyme has a sense of familiarity, remember that Candlemas and Groundhog Day are the same date.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Will Winter Solstice Bring New Cosmic Balance?

Galactic Synchronization or end of the world? This illustration shows how some project the planets in the Milky Way to be aligned on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2012. Image from About2012.
Winter Solstice 2012:
Will planetary alignment
bring new cosmic balance?

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / December 19, 2012

"I’m pickin’ up Good Vibrations..."

Friday, December 21, 2012, is Yule, the Winter Solstice. This year, according to the Mayan Calendar, a major cycle concludes, which is said to prompt major changes in the spiritual collective consciousness.

No, the world is not going to end; no, the X-Files prognostications of an alien invasion are not for real. But this year’s Galactic Synchronization, when lore says that the planets will come into alignment not only with themselves but also with the center of the Milky Way, implies a shift in the cosmic resonance that should affect all beings on Planet Earth.

Consider this: each planet in our solar system vibrates to a specific frequency which may be expressed as a musical note; when all the planets are in alignment, they vibrate in harmony; not dissonance, but harmony. The Galactic Synchronization brings this “harmony of the spheres” to the entire galaxy, creating a symphony of celestial vibrations attuned to balance in all things.

Weather permitting, I recommend you spend some time outdoors on Solstice Night. Open your senses. Breathe deeply and evenly; seven yoga-breaths (in through the nose to fill all the empty spaces in your body such as sinus cavities and the spaces between spinal vertebrae, hold a short time before releasing the breath slowly and evenly through a slightly open mouth) will put you in an Alpha-rhythm and open you to the meditative state.

Observe the moon, the stars, whatever planets may be visible in your area, and the night sky. Listen to the wind, to birdsong, to animals bustling through the brush, to whatever your ears notice. Pay attention to your dreams this night; you may receive insights that will prove helpful to you as we move forward into not only a New Year but also a New Balance.

Winter Solstice is a reestablishing of balance. We will notice the hours of daylight increasing daily as Planet Earth awakens from her deep meditative state to the new beginning that is 2013. What this New Year will bring is yet to be revealed. Each individual will have an individual response to the Galactic Synchronization, and while general trends will move us collectively to a better balance, each individual will still be walking an individual path to achieve that balance.

My feeling is that there will be a greater sense of responsibility to Planet Earth and that there will be a movement toward greater harmony in life, work, and play. My hope is that Yuletide 2012, truly marks the beginning of a more harmonic relationship between not only individuals but also nations, cities and their inhabitants, politicians and their constituents, and humans and their environment.

May each of you enjoy a Merry Christmas, Happy Yuletide, Serene Solstice, and Prosperous New Year.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Samhain Is a Time for Transformation

Time for transformation: Acorn Carved with Dremmel Tool. Image from Skull-A-Day.
Celebrating Samhain:
A time for transformation

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / October 31, 2012

“Under the moonlight we dance/ Spirits dance, we dance/ Holding hands we dance...”

Wednesday, October 31, 2012, is Halloween, aka Samhain, Third Harvest, All Hallows Eve. It marks a time for transformation and growth of the soul while in a spiritual hibernation between Samhain and Yule (Winter Solstice, when life begins to bloom again on Mother Earth).

This is the beginning of the agrarian year, a time of “being in the womb of the earth." We now have time to study, to reflect, to prepare land and soul for the next cycle that will begin at Yule. Honor the Crone (old, wise woman): she holds the tribal lore, stores the records of the clan. Now is the time to listen to the wisdom of the ancestors. Use this knowledge/lore to make plans for the coming year, not only for work, but also for your own spiritual growth and enrichment.

Samhain is also a time of great magick, when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. Do not be surprised if you sense contact with spirits that have crossed this veil or are in transition between the worlds. If you choose to enhance whatever possibilities of communication might be, there are many methods: you may scry, using either a black mirror or water placed in a dark-colored bowl or cauldron; or contemplate the flame of a single candle in an otherwise-unlit room; or create a dumb supper, to name just three.

Be sure to use the colors black and orange in your decorating scheme. You may also use red, brown, and/or golden yellow as accent colors.

If possible, celebrate outdoors and have a fire. Begin your outdoor activities by sweeping the area with a besom or straw broom. This symbolically cleanses the area, sweeping away the past and opening the door to the future. If you invite your guests to each bring a broom or besom, this could become a group activity that could be turned into a celebratory dance.

Lighting a new candle for the “new year” that is now in gestation is also something that could be incorporated into your activities.

Serve your guests a bountiful feast that may include pumpkins, apples, nuts, turnips, all gourds, squash, beets, corn, mulled wines, cider, beef, poultry, pork. Any crops not harvested by this date should be considered taboo and left in the ground, and it is also taboo to share leftovers at this festival. You may, however, bury apples along a road or path for spirits who are lost or who have no descendants to provide for them. Apples are food for the dead.

Decorate with pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, cornstalks, cauldrons, brooms and besoms, apples, root veggies, images of black cats. Throw any bones from your feast into the fire as an offering to the Gods/Goddesses for healthy and plentiful livestock in the coming year. Then, when the ashes are cool, spread them over your garden. This blesses the land as well as nourishes the soil.

Be aware that various Nature Sprites are out and about and are said to enjoy playing tricks on humans. In olden times people dressed in white or wore disguises to fool these entities; today we put on costumes just for the fun of it.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Celebrate the Blue Moon with Sea Water

Image from Fast and Flurrious.
Moon Musings:
Full Moon/Blue Moon
(August 31, 2012)

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / August 27, 2012

"If they say the moon is blue / We must believe that it is true" -- 1500’s proverb

Lady Moon is in Pisces, a Mutable Feminine Water sign, for this Full Moon, and the day, Friday, Frigga’s day, is adding to the abounding feminine energies. The second Full Moon in the month of August, it is called a Blue Moon because of the rarity of seeing two full moons in one calendar month. There is no particular metaphysical significance to a Blue Moon, no reason to give it more emphasis than any other Full Moon.

Named the Piscary or Wort Moon, this Full Moon is a good time to celebrate your accomplishments since the most recent New Moon, a good time to move energy forward toward goals to be achieved by the next New Moon, a good time to keep positive energy moving through and around you.

Feminine energies are nurturing, loving, supporting, encouraging, respecting. I recommend that your magickal workings focus on these positive qualities. Prepare yourself in advance by deciding what topics you find it best to focus your intent upon. The possibilities include: artistic endeavors, health and fitness, knowledge, change and decisions, money, motivation, protection, self-improvement.

Sea water is an important part of Full Moon magick. Sea salt dissolved in tap water is an acceptable substitute. The sea salt should be thoroughly dissolved and the water should then be charged in advance of your celebration.

The simplest way to charge water is to put it in a glass container and let the container of water sit in sunlight or moonlight for 8–12 hours. If your water is being charged outside, be sure to cover the container to keep bugs/leaves/dust out. If it is not convenient to charge the water outside, you may place the container in advance of your celebration on a window ledge for the appropriate time.

One use of the charged water is to invoke Matron Goddesses such as Aphrodite and Cerridwen to assist you in your efforts. You may do this by sprinkling some charged water to the East, South, West, and North, calling on the Matron Goddess of your choice at each direction.

Pour some charged water over your bare feet if you are able to celebrate outdoors under the light of the Full Moon. If you celebrate indoors, spritz yourself from head to toe with charged water, being sure to include the soles of your bare feet. Put charged water into an atomizer or mister for this purpose.

Any leftover charged water should not be saved but returned to the earth. Using it to water houseplants, shrubbery, or trees is said to give extra positive energy to the plant.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Lammas is the First Harvest

Lammas: the First Harvest. Image from Cambridge Community Television.
You can burn your regrets on
Lammas, the First Harvest

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / July 24, 2012

"The corn is as high as a elephant’s eye..."

Tuesday, July 31 or Wednesday, August 1, 2012, is a good time to celebrate Lammas, First Harvest. Lord Sun is in Leo and Lady Moon is in her second quarter in Aquarius. As both Leo (Fire) and Aquarius (Air) are masculine signs, I encourage you to incorporate the feminine elements Water and Earth into your celebrations. This will create a better balance.

Use the colors red, gold, orange, yellow, bronze, citrine, green, and grey in your dress and decor. Lammas means “Loaf Mass” and refers to the first loaf of bread (or cornbread) made from the first-harvested grain of the season, so serving your guests foods that use corn, rye, and/or wheat in their composition is appropriate. Some possibilities are: gingerbread, cornbread, and popcorn.

In addition, include any locally grown produce that is in season, berries and berry pies, roast lamb, ale, and fruit wine, according to your budget and preference.

Begin your feast by giving thanks for the positive things in your life. Encourage your guests to do the same. Honor grain goddesses such as Ceres and Tonantzin. Tonantzin was an Aztec goddess of corn and the earth. Lore says that after the conquistadores destroyed Tonantzin’s temple, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego and told him to build a shrine where the destroyed temple had stood.

The story of Juan Diego’s efforts to do so, the appearance of the Virgin on his cape, and the eventual building of the shrine, is well-known; what is not so well-known is that many Indians took the Virgin Mary to be another aspect of Tonantzin. Their allegiance to this representation of a familiar goddess is, therefore, not surprising.

If you bake a loaf of bread for this occasion, do not slice it but let each guest tear off a bit of bread from the loaf and feed it to the person sitting to their right while saying “May food be always on your table," “May you never go hungry," and other phrases to that effect. Be sure to reserve part of the loaf to be thrown in the ceremonial fire. Bless the tools of your trade in the smoke of the fire (you may add some herbs or incense if you like). This is said to ensure prosperity and positive action in the coming year.

Encourage your guests to tell and retell tales of and myths of Grain Goddesses. The story of Demeter, Hades, and Persephone is but one. You and your guests may also write down words or symbols of things you regret on a piece of paper, wrap the paper in corn husks, and toss into the fire. As these regrets burn to ashes they are released into the air and drift away, leaving you and your guests with the opportunity to begin anew.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun: New Moon in Leo

New Moon in Leo, 2010. Image from Letting Go.
Moon Musings:
New Moon in Leo
(July 19, 2012)

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / July 11, 2012

There is only one day on which to celebrate the New Moon in July 2012: Thursday, July 19.

Thursday is Thor’s day, and this New Moon is in Leo; please take into account all the active masculine energy that surrounds this New Moon as you plan your celebrations. Using the colors white (for pure intent), orange (to attract success), blue (for strength and confidence) and purple (for spiritual inspiration) may assist you in maintaining a proper balance.

Thursday is under the governance of Jupiter, so rituals for success involving money, legal matters, and religious or spiritual matters will be more effective. Involving water in your activities, and repeating any chants or incantations four times is highly recommended.

New Moons are times to start new projects, times to honor all Goddess-as-virgin deities such as Kali, Banshee, Diana, and Hecate. This moon phase is ideal for beginning a weight-loss program, setting and stating new goals, clearing your mind and personal space, releasing the Old to make room for the New.

Focusing on health and self-improvement, job-hunting, goal-setting, and beginnings of all kinds should bring positive results. Perhaps this is why it is considered lucky to move into a new abode during the New Moon: success tends to increase as the moon waxes.

One way to organize your new beginnings is to write down in a notebook one major and two minor goals you would like to see accomplished by the next New Moon. Keep this notebook near your bed and each night, before going to sleep, hold the notebook while visualizing the completion of these goals. Any dreams that come that seem relevant to the goals as you have stated them should be recorded in this notebook, as should any progress or lack of progress as you pursue these goals.

Moon lore says that to dream of a clear moon is an indicator of success and that a New Moon in your dreams is an indicator of increased wealth and/or a happy marriage; if you dream of a moon, be sure to write down the dream in your notebook for future pondering.

Another piece of New Moon lore informs us that it is considered unlucky to point at the New Moon or to view it over your shoulder. Face the New Moon. Open wide your arms and heart and head to her energy. Let that energy fill you to the brim and even spill over to splash about your feet. Pouring some water over your bare feet onto Mother Earth as you honor Lady Moon will not only cool your feet but also bring additional feminine energies into your activities.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Summer Solstice Marks the Midpoint

Summer Solstice fire. Image from Desert Green Goddess.
Between Beltane and the First Harvest...
Summer Solstice: Wednesday, June 20, 2012

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / June 13, 2012

“In the summertime when all the trees and leaves are green....”

Wednesday, June 20, 2012, is the Summer Solstice, also called Litha and Midsummer. The Summer Solstice marks the mid-point between Beltane and the first harvest festival, hence the term Midsummer. Lady Moon is in her first quarter, in the water sign Cancer. The Goddess is now a matron and ripely pregnant, foreshadowing the coming harvest. Wednesday is Odin’s day, implying that fathering, generative, paternal energies will also abound.

Midsummer lore says that any herbs gathered or harvested on this day are exceptionally potent. The general rule for harvesting herbs is to do so before 10 a.m., while the essential oils in the plants are more abundant.

Choose among the colors white, red, golden yellow, green, blue, and tan for your decorating. Serve your guests any yellow or orange food such as summer squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, oranges, lemons. Foods cooked over flames are also welcome: shish-kebab, grilled veggies, grilled salmon or other fish, grilled meats. Ale, mead, and fresh fruit juice are traditional libations, as are lemonade and sangria.

Plan your festivities to celebrate vitality, creativity, health, and abundance. Celebrate all things in your life, work and play equally. Make magick for love, healing, and prosperity. Rejoice in creation and creativity in all forms.

Include your animals in your festivities. Fairies and garden sprites will be pleased if you set out some food for them. You may also leave bits of mirror or crystal about to reflect light, which pleases these beings. Remember that part of this celebration is to not give away fire or food, and to not sleep away from home.

Make a fire if possible. Any fire will do, from a big bonfire to flames in a small cauldron. Any amulets that have lost their usefulness and/or fulfilled their purpose should be destroyed by casting them into the fire. When the ashes cool, strew them across your yard. This is said to bring blessings to the land.

First quarter moons are a good time to begin projects, to declare intentions to be completed by the full moon. It may be helpful to create a self-dedication ceremony to fix your intentions more firmly in your heart and mind. One way to do this is to speak your intention or define your project to the flickering flames, speaking across the flames to each of the equinox and solstice compass points, East, South, West, and North.

The balance shifts from the Waxing Year to the Waning Year. This cycle of abundance leads to “the time that is no time” when fields lie fallow and there is time to reflect and renew before the next movement of the Great Dance begins. The Summer Solstice marks mid-year as well as mid-summer.

On Saturday, July 21, 2012, I will be participating in a Feed Your Spirit event at the Holiday Inn in Round Rock, Texas. On Saturday and Sunday, July 28-29, 2012, I will be participating in a Spiritual Life Productions Metaphysical Fair at the Holiday Inn Midtown, in Austin. All the information about both these events as well as how to schedule an advance reading is posted on my website.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Invoke Maiden Goddesses During Second Quarter Moon

Waxing gibbous with cirrus clouds on a Wednesday evening. Photo by Bob King / Astro Bob.
Moon Musings:
Second Quarter Moon
(May 29 - 31, 2012)

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / May 28, 2012

Second quarter moons are best celebrated between 10 and 11 p.m. Invoke all maiden goddesses such as Artemis and Branwen. In addition to the color appropriate for the day you choose, you may also incorporate the colors white (for pure intent), purple (for spiritual inspiration) and/or pale orange (for success).

Second quarter moons, also called waxing gibbous moons, are times to consider growth: where would you benefit from growth in your life, what plants or seeds should be put into the garden (if you do not already have night-blooming plants in your garden, this would be a good time to plant some or sow some seeds), what areas of your life would benefit from support and nurturance, what new projects should be begun?

As you contemplate possible plans, remember that Juno, Pluto, and Venus are currently retrograde; I strongly recommend that you consider the retrograde influences as well as the second quarter moon influences as you choose the day to open yourself to Lady Moon’s energies.

 “Retrograde” refers to the seemingly reversed motion of the planets and asteroids in their orbits. Forward-moving planets and asteroids are said to go “direct," the opposite movement is called “retrograde." All planets and asteroids retrograde at regular intervals and retrogrades generate the opposite affect of direct movement.

Juno, an asteroid, and Venus, a planet, exert influence primarily in our personal lives. Juno retrograde tends to make us more suspicious of our romantic partners, makes it easier to see signs of untrustworthiness -- whether those signs are real or imagined. Venus rules the heart, hence her retrogrades make it easier for us to be attracted to someone less worthy of our love and trust. Venus also rules the household, making it easier for us to be tempted to overspend or go deeper in debt when she retrogrades.

Pluto, now considered a lesser dwarf by astronomers (not astrologers, please note), is generally an easy-going influence. When he retrogrades, however, we are forced to focus on whatever it is we have been ignoring; taking care of something “later” can quickly shift to taking care of it “right now” when Pluto retrogrades.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 29 and 30, the moon is in Virgo. Moon in Virgo is all about helping, about doing what needs to be done without whining or whimpering. Moon in Virgo is a very good time to pay attention to diet, hygiene, and daily schedules. Focus on YOU, pay attention to DETAILS, make PLANS to benefit you/your situation and then be prepared to ACT upon them.

If you choose to celebrate on Tuesday you should work with Mars energies: focus on overcoming enmity, developing courage, and protecting property. Use the color red, make sure the Fire element is present, and recite your chant five times. If Wednesday is a better day, work with Mercury energies and focus on career-related aspects of your life. Use the color yellow, be sure to feel air moving around you, and recite your chant eight times.

On Thursday, May 31, the moon is in Libra. Moon in Libra is all about balance. If you are aware of imbalance in your life, this is the day to not only honor the Waxing Gibbous Moon but also to make ritual that will restore balance to you.

Moon in Libra will orient you toward dealing with relationships and partnerships, particularly if you are aware of imbalances in these areas. A Libra Moon encourages us to beautify our surroundings (like weed the garden, plant flowers, scrub away dirt) and to surround ourselves with beauty.

If you celebrate on Thursday, make sure your setting is at the least harmonious and at the best beautiful. Remember that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder," if it pleases you, that’s the more important thing.

If you prefer Thursday for your activities, use Jupiter energy for rituals primarily regarding money and legal matters. Use the color blue, have water present to sprinkle about and on you, and repeat your chant four times.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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IDEAS / Bill Meacham : Ways to Say 'Should'

Image from Bite Size Buzz.
Ways to say 'should'

It behooves us to choose wisely what duties and rules to live by. And the way to choose wisely is by considering the effects of our choices.

By Bill Meacham / The Rag Blog / April 26, 2012

Since I advocate strongly for the Goodness paradigm over the Rightness paradigm when we think about how to conduct our lives(1), it seems appropriate to investigate more fully what I rail against. By “Rightness paradigm” I mean a set of concepts revolving around moral rules and duties. What is morally right, in this view, is what conforms to moral rules, and we have a duty to obey those rules. This way of thinking is called “deontological,” from a Greek word, deon, that means “duty.”

According to this approach, an action is justified, regardless of its consequences, on the basis of a quality or characteristic of the act itself, its conformance to a rule. Morality is concerned with identifying and obeying moral rules. It is right -- indeed, it is mandatory -- to obey the rules and wrong to disobey them. Any particular act can be judged right or wrong according to whether and to what extent it conforms to the moral rules. A central concern, then, is to identify the rules so you can make sure you obey them.

The problem, of course, is how to determine what those moral rules are. I’ll return to that issue shortly.

It is undeniable that we have moral intuitions, that we have a sense of right and wrong. Lots of psychological research demonstrates it(2) and we each know these intuitions first-hand: we feel self-righteous when we do something right, guilt when we do something wrong, and indignation when others transgress.

There are good reasons to believe that these instincts are built into our brains and minds at birth, ready to be channeled by culture into particular forms. We evolved this way because humans have to live with other humans in order to survive, and moral rules regulate how we get along together. A shared sense of morals makes for group cohesion, and those who are members of cohesive groups survive and reproduce better than those who aren’t.

Moral norms have two functions according to Duke professor David Wong, interpersonal and intrapersonal: “The interpersonal function is to promote and regulate social cooperation. The intrapersonal function is to foster a degree of ordering among potentially conflicting motivational propensities, including self- and other-regarding motivations. This ordering serves to encourage people to become constructive participants in the cooperative life...”(3)

In order to understand these functions, it is helpful to take a closer look at the various types of moral judgements and what they entail for our behavior. In this I am indebted to professor Margaret Little of Georgetown University, who has come up with what we might call a taxonomy of moral concepts. Here is an illustration:(4)

Moral concept taxonomy

Moral and ethical judgements are all ways of saying “should”: telling someone what he or she should do (or refrain from doing) or should have done, or telling ourselves the same.(5) Moral rules are in the branch labeled “deontic.” But the deontic is not the only type of “should”; another type is prudential. In deontic cases the “should” is a prescription or even a command. In the prudential case it is a recommendation. The force of our prescription or recommendation depends on the category in which the “should” is presented.

The first category is moral law (Deontic/Moral in the illustration). An example is “Thou Shalt Not Steal” (“should” being stated in its strongest form, “shall”). In this case we feel justified in demanding that someone obey the “should” and blaming them if they don’t. The imperative provokes in us feelings of moral righteousness and indignation. And the imperative has a sense of universality, that it applies to everyone. This is the domain of what I call the Rightness paradigm.

The second category is legal law (Deontic/Legal in the illustration), such as defining misdemeanor or felony theft. In this case we feel justified in demanding that someone obey and not only blaming but punishing them if they don’t. The imperative has force, however, only within the context of the laws of a given political community.

The third category is social convention (Deontic/Social). An example is the rule that if one attends a wedding, one should bring a gift. In this case we may not demand obedience (you can’t demand a gift) but we do feel justified in blaming failure, if not to the offender’s face then in gossiping to others. This is clearly a matter of social agreement, not universal law, and applies only within a given community.

The fourth category is prudential evaluation (Prudential/Commendatory), for example that for good health one should eat lots of vegetables. In this case we may not demand but may certainly advise adherence to such a “should.” And we may not blame or punish failure to comply but may say the choice is foolish.

This kind of judgement is in the Goodness paradigm, one of the features of which is that such judgements are objectively verifiable. We can do studies of the effects of diet on health, studies that provide factual evidence, so the recommendation is not just someone’s opinion. The scope of applicability is interesting. Potentially such a judgement could be universal, but in practice it depends on context.

Perhaps for a malnourished vegan eating lots of vegetables would not be good, and instead he or she should try some meat. I claim that there is nothing that is good in itself . When you are speaking about goodness, always ask, “Good for whom? Good for what and under what circumstances?” if you want to avoid confusion.

This taxonomy gives us some insights into the nature of rights and duties, the objects of moral judgement. There is a quite a large body of literature on the ontological status of moral entities, meaning the manner of their existence. They seem to be real, in that many people recognize them, but they can’t be touched or felt or measured as physical objects can.

Do they exist objectively, independent of our perception of them, as physical reality does? Are they merely social conventions? Are they somewhere in between?

There is good reason to believe that moral entities do not exist objectively, because it is a matter of empirical fact that people disagree about them in a way that they do not disagree about physical reality.

A study asked respondents in the United States and in India whether it would be morally wrong to steal a train ticket in order to attend a best friend’s wedding. People in the U.S. said it would be wrong to steal; people in India said it would be wrong not to steal, if that were the only way you could get to the wedding!(6)

This disagreement is clearly in a completely different category from, say, whether water always boils at the same temperature regardless of atmospheric pressure. You can observe and measure water boiling and come to a decisive answer, regardless of where you live. Cultural differences play no role at all in your answer about physical reality, but they do in your answer about moral reality.

This leads some to deny any reality to moral entities at all, and to label all moral judgements as false because they refer to fictional entities. This position, known as “moral error theory,” goes a bit too far, I think, as it ignores our indubitable intuitions of right and wrong. (Not that the content of such intuitions is indubitable, but that we do have them is not to be doubted at all.)

We could say that moral entities are just social conventions, but that is not strong enough. We do not get together and decide what we shall regard as right and wrong as we do in deciding when to have tea every day. We really do seem to recognize something that exists independently of whether or not we agree that it exists.

My take on it is this: Moral entities are realities that are intersubjectively constituted within a community of practice, a social group, a culture or a society. By that I mean that within such a community or society, everybody agrees (more or less) on what they are, everybody treats them the same way and everybody acts as if they are real. So, for members of such a community they are real.

The term “constitute” comes from the phenomenological insight, verified by cognitive psychology, that in large part our minds concoct what we perceive. We don’t just see physical things; we make up what we see, based on sensory input that we do not make up. There is a large cognitive component in our experience, which we mostly overlook, but which sometimes becomes startlingly obvious.

Here is an example: A woman I know was walking across her ranch one day and stepped over a hose. Then she thought, “That’s odd. What is a hose doing here?” She turned and looked and saw that it was a snake. (Fortunately, she was wearing boots.) Before she recognized that it was a snake, she had constituted it as a hose. Was it really a hose? No. Did she really see a hose the first time? Yes, she did.

Similarly, we really do intuit that some things are right and others wrong, that some deeds are obligatory and others forbidden, that some actions can be demanded of us and others cannot, that some behavior is blameworthy, some praiseworthy and some neither. And considering the effects of honoring those intuitions or not -- namely, the reactions of others in the community -- their objects really do have reality.

Does that mean we are stuck with the morals our society constitutes for us? Not at all. Now that we recognize the true nature of moral entities, we can choose what to do about them.

But how shall we choose? This actually presents a bit of a conundrum. Rationally, the sense of what is right and wrong, of what is our duty, loses its obligatory force. Constructed socially, moral entities are real but do not constrain our actions as physical reality does.

When we recognize this state of affairs a sort of spell is broken, and we do not see our world the same way as before; we are no longer taken in by moral reality. We are able to choose, within the constraints of our emotional and social conditioning, which duties to obey, or even whether to obey any at all. And we have this freedom even if we would rather not have it. You can’t go back; you can’t undo a realization about how the world works. As the existentialists say, we are condemned to be free.(7)

Second-order mentation, our ability to consider in thought and imagination not just the world around us but ourselves as well, can seem like a burden because emotionally we still feel the force of these moral intuitions. We may know intellectually that it is not always wrong to steal a train ticket, but we still cringe at the thought of doing so. We seek a way to reconcile the antinomy of freedom and facticity.

Here is where the Goodness paradigm becomes useful. Since sensitivity to moral concerns is a part of our biological inheritance it is difficult to imagine that we could ever get rid of it even if we wanted to. And we might not want to; moral intuitions enable us to live with others without having to think what to do all the time. So it behooves us to choose wisely what duties and rules to live by. And the way to choose wisely is by considering the effects of our choices.

Consider the injunction against stealing. Even though there could be some short-term gain for the thief, it is in a person’s long-term interest to live in a society where people are honest. And being honest produces in us a greater internal harmony of feeling than being dishonest. There are benefits to playing by the rules. An honest person will be better off in the long run, even though in certain instances it might seem disadvantageous.

So if you are wise you will notice the moral urge to be honest, the call of conscience, and decide to accept it. Even though it is a triggered response, you will let that response happen. You will adopt a policy of accepting such responses, of refraining from taking what is not yours even if the opportunity arises, and you will enjoy a happier life as a result.

Recall the function of moral norms: to promote social cooperation and well-being. Moral rules that promote well-being are worth following; moral rules that don’t, aren’t.

And if you feel the need for an overarching duty, a sort of highest principle, let me suggest this: The best duty is the commitment to find ways to live that promote the well-being of yourself, your community and your environment. The highest and noblest endeavor, which we are free to regard as a duty if we wish, is to work for the good in all things.

[Bill Meacham is an independent scholar in philosophy. A former staffer at Austin's 60s underground paper, The Rag, Bill received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. Meacham spent many years working as a computer programmer, systems analyst, and project manager. He posts at Philosophy for Real Life, where this article also appears. Read more articles by Bill Meacham on The Rag Blog.]

Notes
(1) See my paper on “The Good and the Right.” On-line publication, URL = http://www.bmeacham.com/whatswhat/GoodAndRight.html.
(2) See, for instance, the works of Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker and Marc Hauser, among others.
(3) Wong, “Making An Effort To Understand,” p. 13.
(4) Adapted from Little, Margaret, “The Moral Right to do Wrong.” Little’s examination shows the strength of analytic philosophy: by clarifying conceptually what we are talking about, we can avoid confusion and make progress toward insight.
(5) I do not distinguish between “moral” and “ethical,” although some philosophers do, reserving the former for the Rightness paradigm of rights and obligations, and the latter for any situation in which advice or command is appropriate.
(6) Wong, “Making An Effort To Understand,” p. 12.
(7) Sartre, “Existentialism Is a Humanism.”

References
Haidt, Jonathan, and Graham, Jesse. “Planet of the Durkheimians, Where Community, Authority, and Sacredness are Foundations of Morality.” On-line publication, URL = http://ssrn.com/abstract=980844 as of 12 April 2012.
Haidt, Jonathan. “On the moral roots of liberals and conservatives.” On-line, URL = http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html as of 12 April 2012.
Hauser, Marc D. Moral Minds: The Nature of Right and Wrong. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006.
Little, Margaret. “The Moral Right to do Wrong.” Lecture presented at the 2012 Royal Ethics Conference, University of Texas at Austin, 25 February 2012.
Pinker, Steven. “The Moral Instinct”. On-line publication, URL = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Psychology-t.html as of 12 January 2008.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism Is a Humanism.” On-line publication, URL = http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm as of 17 September 2011.
Wikipedia. “Moral skepticism.” On-line publication, URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_skepticism as of 12 April 2012.
Wong, David. “Making An Effort To Understand.” Philosophy Now Magazine, Issue 82 (January/February 2011), pp. 10 – 13. London: Anya Publications, 2011. Also on-line publication, URL = http://www.philosophynow.org/issues/82/Making_An_Effort_To_Understand as of 12 April 2012.

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