I remember hearing about Silver RavenWolf's writings for ages, but I never really allowed myself to actually read any of her books. Why? For the silly and immature excuse of the general audience's mixed feelings about her books. For pete's sake, what the heck is wrong with me: why not read and form my own opinion?! *le grrrr*

So I checked out one of her earlier books through interlibrary loan, "To Ride a Silver Broomstick." Now that I've been journeying in the pagan direction for about 3 years, some of these things I've already (intuitively) accomplished, but I have been picking up new things here and there and discovering odds n' ends to think about. While some may consider her stuff 'fluff,' from my perspective I think there is quite a bit of useful stuff in there - especially for total beginners.

(and quite honestly - doesn't just about everyone go through a bit of a fluff-bunny phase anyway when starting out from a different direction? I think it's just a human tendency of blind enthusiasm for something new and different.)

Anyway. One of the things that I really liked was the guidance about timing for spell craft - which quite honestly, until now I've felt a little overwhelmed and confused about. I mean, sure, it's all intuitive and natural and such - but coming from a Catholic background where everything is ritual and timed... and I'm having to adjust my mental programming, the "science" part that Silver speaks of (the craft being divided into "science" and "religion") really helps me understand and connect concepts. I don't know, just the way she explained it made so much sense. I'm very much a visual person, so I was very compelled to create a monthly calendar for myself to apply my new understanding, and this is what I came up with:

You can see I have the lunar phases drawn in. The full moons are the blue squares. According to her text, the 3 days before and after a full moon are the most powerful times for spell craft, (which I have also heard about this 3 day thing from a number of other random sources, but couldn't figure out when these days were...) and these are in purple surrounding the full moon. The New moon is in the Yellow square, a time for "personal growth, healing, blessings of new projects or ventures, etc." Then it is a waxing, or "growing" moon, good for attraction magick, so I drew in yellow increasing across the days. The time from a full moon to a new is the waning moon, a good time for banishment or rejection, so it is drawn in black to a decrease. The dark of the moon (3 days before the new moon) is when the moon is not visible. "Traditionally, this is a time when no magick is performed. It is a period to give yourself a break; a time of rest." These of course are the days I have X'd out. Silver does makes an exception for Hecate related magick however, and meditation (etc.).

Bottom line: I know this is something very elementary for most, and I might even be criticized that this is a little over-analytical and too perfectionist for something that should be more intuition-based. But like I said: I'm still a beginner, and this helps me to visualize and better understand the natural cycle of the moon and its influences. And I figure from a teaching perspective/educational background, maybe it's something good to do or to practice for younger ones being brought up in the craft.

Just wanted to share!

Blessed Be!