#holy days

[maeviuslynn]

Happy Greater Feast to Aleister Crowley!

A "greater feast" is Thelema refers to the celebration of one's death. A "lesser feast" refers to one's birth. To quote the Book of the Law, "…a feast for life and a greater feast for death!" AL II:41.

This modern holiday is not one of the official ones called for in the Book of the Law, but people still like to celebrate it with food and reading some of Crowley's poetry.

Aleister Crowley asked for his friends in England to get together a year after he died and celebrate with a curry dinner. And they did that. Gerald York, Frieda Lady Harris, and others got together at Gerald York's place and had a curry feast. Many Thelemites in the modern day choose to carry on this tradition. I know my household will be having curry tonight!

[mcjhay]

You might be going through hell right now, feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and every step forward takes all the strength you have left. Maybe it feels like life keeps knocking you down, testing you in ways you never thought you could handle. But even in this dark place, remember: everything will be okay. These storms you're facing, no matter how fierce, will pass, and one day soon, you'll look back and see how much stronger they made you.

Life doesn't always make sense when you're in the middle of the struggle. It's easy to feel lost, defeated, and question why things happen the way they do. But trust that there's purpose in your pain, lessons in your hardships, and growth in your struggles. Every challenge is shaping you, building resilience you didn't know you had. One day, this pain will be a part of your story, not the defining chapter, but the one that proved your strength, your courage, and your ability to rise.

Hold on a little longer, even when it feels impossible. Give yourself grace on the hard days, and remember that even though it may not seem like it now, brighter days are ahead. Life has a way of surprising us, of bringing unexpected blessings and healing in time. Believe that you are meant for something beyond this moment, and that everything you're enduring now is setting you up for a future filled with peace, joy, and a deep appreciation for the journey.

Trust that everything you're going through right now is preparing you for something greater. It may be hard to see it from where you stand, but life has a way of working out in ways we couldn't have planned. So hang in there. Keep going. You are not alone, and you are stronger than you know. Hold on to hope, because everything truly will be okay. Time will tell and may we all be great✌🏾

[pagan-stitches]

In my folkloric Christian practice the beginning of February is an important time. It marks the half way point of winter and is dotted with Saints’ days. My primary altar remains focused on Morana, but the smaller altar is focused on the saints.

February 1 — Saint Brigid’s Day, important to my Irish and Scottish ancestors and celebrated on the altar with a holy card inherited from my great-aunt Sister Margaret Mary (photo 5), a Brigid’s cross (photo 9), and an embroidery (photo 8) featuring a Brigid cross that I use as a dress when I make a Brigid doll. I have also placed Snake ( @graveyarddirt ) more prominently as this was believed to be the day snakes came out of their holes (photo 4).

February 2 — Hromnice/Candlemas/Presentation of Jesus at the temple. The yellow embroidery in the back of many of the photos was designed specifically for this holiday (adapted from a Slovakian folk pattern). There is also an old hromničky (thunder candle, photo 6) that I will probably melt down for this year’s candle. In Photo 3 you can also see the dried mullein stalk that I will also be using in this year’s candle.

February 3 — Saint Blaise’s Feast Day, as he is the patron saint of cattle among other things, I have placed cow figurines (photo 2) and a cattle horn filled with wheat (photo 6). His feast day was important to my Czech ancestors and featured baking of buns (to be blessed by the church and used in folk magic for healing/preventing throat disease) and caroling by teachers and students.

February 5 — Saint Agatha’s Feast Day, also important to my Czech ancestors, this was a day that bread, salt, and water (photo 10) were blessed by the church and saved for use in folk magic.

February 6 — Saint Dorothy’s Feast Day, in Czechia this was once the occasion of Saint Dorothy plays (postage stamp in photo 7) often featuring the Saint, a king, an executioner, and čert (the folkloric devil).

[lettersfromgod]

"The significance of The Holy Days is found In their meaning and revealed by their order…

Even as all find their fulfillment in The Messiah And their completion in the coming of The Lord…

Says The Lord."

📖 Source: "The Holy Days" - Words To Live By: Part Two: https://www.thevolumesoftruth.com/Words_To_Live_By:_Part_Two

▶ Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE8FlkxQPQkPHgZ2CISXAJx3vpxyJ9MCr

📖 Also see ANSWERS ONLY GOD CAN GIVE:

Regarding The Holy Days of God: https://answersonlygodcangive.com/Regarding_The_Holy_Days_of_God

📖 Bible Study: The TRUE Chronology of The Messiah’s Crucifixion and Resurrection: https://www.thevolumesoftruth.com/YahuShua…_The_Lamb_of_God:_The_TRUE_Chronology_of_The_Messiah%E2%80%99s_Crucifixion_and_Resurrection

[maisartcraft-blog]

sketch and final drawing

holyday dell :3 my grandad always use to wear thouse hawaii shirts and I feeld like drawing dell wearing it , I like to belive he would had liked the engineer too as he reminds me aloth of him in many ways .

[babsphomet]

666 𝚰𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 666

[gladstones-corner]

On Holy Days

The topic of holy days is a varied and sometimes contentious one. There are certain days that tend to be more common than others in the magical community, but that makes them far from ubiquitous.

The aim of this post isn’t to name every holy day—nor is it to suggest that the holy days named in this post are the correct ones. Instead, I’ll use the Thelemic calendar as my base, then name a couple ways you can introduce custom holy days to your calendar.

Let’s get started.

The Thelemic Calendar at a Glance

The Thelemic calendar is a complicated one, especially for newcomers. Let’s forgo the dating mechanic for a moment and just focus on the explanations of the holidays:

“36. There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times. 37. A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride! 38. A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law. 39. A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet—secret, O Prophet! 40. A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods. 41. A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death! 42. A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture! 43. A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!” —Aleister Crowley, Liber AL vel Legis

Let’s generalize and demystify this a little bit:

36. The Solstices and Equinoxes 37. August 12th 38. April 8th–10th 39. August 6th 40. March 20th and the Vernal Equinox 41. Puberty Rites, Birth Rites, Death Rites 42. Daily Gratitude 43. Nightly Gratitude

Of this list, several of these are distinct to Thelema. However, the Solstices, Equinoxes, Puberty Rites, Birth Rites, and Death Rites are all common to mystical and magical traditions. I’d like to add a couple more, leading to a full list of holy days as such:

Birth Rites, done once but creating an Anniversary of Birth Holy Day

Puberty Rites, done once

Initiation, thus leading to an Anniversary of Initiation Holy Day (this date either changes with each subsequent initiation, or stays the same as your very first initiation)

Vernal Equinox, done yearly

Summer Solstice, done yearly

Autumnal Equinox, done yearly

Winter Solstice, done yearly

Handfasting (Optional), creating an Anniversary of Love Holy Day

Death Rites, done once

From my perspective, this is the minimum number of Holy Days required (except Handfasting) for a full-fledged tradition. However, in doing the research for this post, I had colleagues disagree. One provided their own Holy Days list:

Initiation

Vernal Equinox

Beltane

Summer Solstice

Lughnasadh

Autumnal Equinox

Samhain

Winter Solstice

Imbolc

Handfasting (Optional)

Death Rites

Still another sent me a dizzying calendar of saints’ days, saying that they tend to pick the saints’ days that they need during that month to celebrate—but they always celebrate at least once a month. In addition, they celebrate the following:

Advent

Christmas

Ash Wednesday

Lent

Good Friday

Easter

Much less structured; no less valid.

Generating Your Own Holy Days

Okay, so we’ve gone over the general gloss of Holy Days, but how do we identify new ones for our own traditions?

The answer is highly subjective. Generally, you want to look for milestones in your life and in the cycles of nature around you. If you’re not keen on the traditional Wheel of the Year (in either its four- or eight-spoked forms), there are several other ways to track the seasons across the year.

For example, you could add the Lunar New Year as part of your Holy Days. You could also add the day you first achieved Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, or some similar milestone in which your life was irrevocably changed. Even secular days, like Groundhog Day, can be added.

Let’s add some extra days just for completion’s sake. Let’s say you also celebrate the Blue Moon and various other astrological phenomena, like eclipses. You can note those down as special days of power—though they’re not yearly, they’re no less Holy Days.

Conclusion

Overall, creating a calendar becomes a mixture of Holy Days in your tradition, seasonal or natural observances, and milestone celebrations. Putting it together is fairly easy—adhering to it is another matter entirely. That’s why I recommend a small calendar first, based in your chosen tradition. That gets you used to cyclical Holy Days from a magical perspective. Then, you can expand naturally as events arise and become important to your practice.

Thank you for reading. As always, stay safe and stay tuned. Blessings~

[anti-zionist-jew]

which jewish holiday is your favourite

Sukkot- the harvest festival. It is also immediately followed by the Simchat which marks the end of the Torah cycle. There’s something so full circle and beautiful about the bounty marking the end of a “year” in a sense.

[ancat-dubh]

vernal equinox season 2025

St Patrick's Day to spring equinox is becoming its own lil festival period in my calendar, I think? Winter tends to be a magical fallow period for me – I focus more on my ancestors, Shadow Work TM, and some deep divination, less on active practice/working/direct collaborations with deities or spirits. Think this is the third equinox in a row where I've slid naturally into a big spring clean/post-Paddy's Day meal for the Irish ancestors and boom, suddenly found myself doing the first working of spring (all-day, just letting myself wander from task to task with the ebb and flow of my ADHD impulses, deliberately checking in with my body every time I did something new). I guess that's a festival baybee – something about asking the ancestors' blessing for the growing season and poking at the spark of my practice while the land wakes back up.

Somewhere over the course of the day I: cleaned the house top to bottom –> dedicated a neglected near-dead cloudberry's repot to a moth I found on the biggest clean of the year -> laid new topsoil and planned out a first draft of my planting plans -> sowed calendula seeds from Blarney Castle's herb garden + ancestors seemed to approve -> big ol feast with local fish/potatoes in a Guinness and honey glaze, with honey from my grandpa's bees -> big cross-quarter divination in my new hearth altar (v WIP) -> dedicated the beeswax candle (also from grandpa's bees) for Important Ancestral Working Business -> fucked myself in the bath -> started a two-week period of renewing my vows to the house and garden with some slow, deliberate rearranging and refreshing before the new housemate moves in this weekend. I'm starting to take my newly disabled ass' energy more seriously as a high-stakes offering and deliberately paced myself so I wore myself the fuck out but moved slow, rested often, and didn't crash, just slept really good into a slow recovery day. V good! V spring! Things have been a Lot but think I'm gonna be okay!

[innervoiceartblog]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

AND IT WAS THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER

He stayed in his walk to watch a typesetter neatly distributing type. Reads it backwards first. Quickly he does it. Must require some practice that. mangiD kcirtaP. Poor papa with his hagadah book, reading backwards with his finger to me. Pessach. Next year in Jerusalem. Dear, O dear! All that long business about that brought us out of the land of Egypt and into the house of bondage alleluia. Shema Israel Adonai Elohenu. No, that’s the other. Then the twelve brothers, Jacob’s sons. And then the lamb and the cat and the dog and the stick and the water and the butcher. And then the angel of death kills the butcher and he kills the ox and the dog kills the cat. Sounds a bit silly till you come to look into it well. Justice it means but it’s everybody eating everyone else. That’s what life is after all. How quickly he does that job. Practice makes perfect. Seems to see with his fingers.

~James Joyce

(Ori Hanan Weisberg)

[the-chronicle-of-holy-days]

Day 12

Liber Liberi vel Lapidis Lazuli

III

1. I was the priest of Ammon-Ra in the temple of Ammon-Ra at Thebai.

2. But Bacchus came singing with his troops of vine-clad girls, of girls in dark mantles; and Bacchus in the midst like a fawn!

3. God! how I ran out in my rage and scattered the chorus!

4. But in my temple stood Bacchus as the priest of Ammon-Ra.

5. Therefore I went wildly with the girls into Abyssinia; and there we abode and rejoiced.

6. Exceedingly; yea, in good sooth!

7. I will eat the ripe and the unripe fruit for the glory of Bacchus.

8. Terraces of ilex, and tiers of onyx and opal and sardonyx leading up to the cool green porch of malachite.

9. Within is a crystal shell, shaped like an oyster — O glory of Priapus! O beatitude of the Great Goddess!

10. Therein is a pearl.

11. O Pearl! thou hast come from the majesty of dread Ammon-Ra.

12. Then I the priest beheld a steady glitter in the heart of the pearl.

13. So bright we could not look! But behold! a blood-red rose upon a rood of glowing gold!

14. So I adored the God. Bacchus! thou art the lover of my God!

15. I who was priest of Ammon-Ra, who saw the Nile flow by for many moons, for many, many moons, am the young fawn of the grey land.

16. I will set up my dance in your conventicles, and my secret loves shall be sweet among you.

17. Thou shalt have a lover among the lords of the grey land.

18. This shall he bring unto thee, without which all is in vain; a man’s life spilt for thy love upon My Altars.

19. Amen.

20. Let it be soon, O God, my God! I ache for Thee, I wander very lonely among the mad folk, in the grey land of desolation.

21. Thou shalt set up the abominable lonely Thing of wickedness. Oh joy! to lay that corner-stone!

22. It shall stand erect upon the high mountain; only my God shall commune with it.

23. I will build it of a single ruby; it shall be seen from afar off.

24. Come! let us irritate the vessels of the earth: they shall distil strange wine.

25. It grows under my hand: it shall cover the whole heaven.

26. Thou art behind me: I scream with a mad joy.

27. Then said Ithuriel the strong; let Us also worship this invisible marvel!

28. So did they, and the archangels swept over the heaven.

29. Strange and mystic, like a yellow priest invoking mighty flights of great grey birds from the North, so do I stand and invoke Thee!

30. Let them obscure not the sun with their wings and their clamour!

31. Take away form and its following!

32. I am still.

33. Thou art like an osprey among the rice, I am the great red pelican in the sunset waters.

34. I am like a black eunuch; and Thou art the scimitar. I smite off the head of the light one, the breaker of bread and salt.

35. Yea! I smite — and the blood makes as it were a sunset on the lapis lazuli of the King’s Bedchamber.

36. I smite! The whole world is broken up into a mighty wind, and a voice cries aloud in a tongue that men cannot speak.

37. I know that awful sound of primal joy; let us follow on the wings of the gale even unto the holy house of Hathor; let us offer the five jewels of the cow upon her altar!

38. Again the inhuman voice!

39. I rear my Titan bulk into the teeth of the gale, and I smite and prevail, and swing me out over the sea.

40. There is a strange pale God, a god of pain and deadly wickedness.

41. My own soul bites into itself, like a scorpion ringed with fire.

42. That pallid God with face averted, that God of subtlety and laughter, that young Doric God, him will I serve.

43. For the end thereof is torment unspeakable.

44. Better the loneliness of the great grey sea!

45. But ill befall the folk of the grey land, my God!

46. Let me smother them with my roses!

47. Oh Thou delicious God, smile sinister!

48. I pluck Thee, O my God, like a purple plum upon a sunny tree. How Thou dost melt in my mouth, Thou consecrated sugar of the Stars!

49. The world is all grey before mine eyes; it is like an old worn wine-skin.

50. All the wine of it is on these lips.

51. Thou hast begotten me upon a marble Statue, O my God!

52. The body is icy cold with the coldness of a million moons; it is harder than the adamant of eternity. How shall I come forth into the light?

53. Thou art He, O God! O my darling! my child! my plaything! Thou art like a cluster of maidens, like a multitude of swans upon the lake.

54. I feel the essence of softness.

55. I am hard and strong and male; but come Thou! I shall be soft and weak and feminine.

56. Thou shalt crush me in the wine-press of Thy love. My blood shall stain Thy fiery feet with litanies of Love in Anguish.

57. There shall be a new flower in the fields, a new vintage in the vineyards.

58. The bees shall gather a new honey; the poets shall sing a new song.

59. I shall gain the Pain of the Goat for my prize; and the God that sitteth upon the shoulders of Time shall drowse.

60. Then shall all this which is written be accomplished: yea, it shall be accomplished

[mcjhay]

You threw her away—the one girl who would have gone to the ends of the earth for you. She was there when no one else was, through every high and every low, holding you up when you were weak, celebrating with you when you were strong. She gave you her whole heart, every piece of herself, without reservation or hesitation. She would've moved mountains if it meant keeping you safe, loved, and happy. But you didn't see her worth; you took her for granted and pushed her aside like she was replaceable.

She stood by you when you weren't at your best, when you were difficult to love, when most people would have walked away. She chose you, over and over again, even when you gave her a thousand reasons not to. She forgave you when you hurt her, gave you chances, and showed you grace in moments you didn't even deserve. She loved you selflessly, with a loyalty that's hard to find in this world. Yet, you let her go, as if people like her come along every day.

One day, you'll realize what you lost. You'll remember how she listened to every word you said, how she supported you without asking for anything in return, how her love was a constant light in your life. And on that day, you'll feel the weight of regret, knowing that you threw away something irreplaceable. Because a love like hers doesn't come twice, and when you threw her away, you lost the one person who would've done anything for you.

So, while you go through life, just know that the girl who loved you without limits, who would have stayed by your side no matter what, is gone. You lost her because you couldn't see her worth when she was right in front of you. And while she'll heal and find someone who knows her value, you'll carry the regret of letting her go—a loss that will stay with you, long after she's moved on to someone who truly deserves her. Time will tell and may we all be great!

Goodnight everyone following me💕

[optimalmastery]

Beyond Samhain: Global Traditions to Honor the Dead

Samhain, celebrated at the end of October in the Northern Hemisphere, is a sacred festival for many Pagans and witches. It marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year. It’s considered a time when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest. Therefore, this Sabbat provides the opportunity to honor ancestors, remember…

[lettersfromgod]

"The Holy Days are the Stepping stones to Heaven…

In understanding their meaning shall you Progress quickly along the path I have laid…

And when I have fulfilled them to the last The journey shall be complete, For those who have accepted and received…

Says The Lord YahuShua."

📖 Source - "Embracing The Gift" Words To Live By (Part One): https://www.thevolumesoftruth.com/Words_To_Live_By:_Part_One

🎬 Video Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE8FlkxQPQkMinJ_T3GF3VuXpPKyIQyYK

📖 Also see: ANSWERS ONLY GOD CAN GIVE:

Regarding The Holy Days of God: https://answersonlygodcangive.com/Regarding_The_Holy_Days_of_God

📖 Also see: Bible Study: The TRUE Chronology of The Messiah’s Crucifixion and Resurrection: https://www.thevolumesoftruth.com/YahuShua…_The_Lamb_of_God:_The_TRUE_Chronology_of_The_Messiah%E2%80%99s_Crucifixion_and_Resurrection

[lailoken]

Which is the Day of the Salmon? I'm trying to map out the celestial compass for myself but I can't figure out what would be between Halloween and the Winter Solstice. Is it Thanksgiving?

Darkening Day is the Salmon's day, and that aligns with the Winter Solstice. Between Hallowmas and Darkening Day, there are no other Cardinal Holy Days.

I'm not sure if/how you're trying to use the outline of my tradition's seasonal sabbaths, but given that these Holy Days are bioregional and initiatory in nature, I'm not sure how trying to mimic them without that context would really serve you in the end.